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May 13, 2021 By Caleb Campbell

LA punk maven Kate Clover draws her musical lineage back to longtime mainstays like Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, and Johnny Thunders. Bratty, gritty, glam, and vintage in all the right ways, Clover’s music revives the sound of yesteryear’s counterculture with all of the pop hooks, sharp melodies, and ear-catching punch intact. After cutting her teeth in local acts, Clover went solo in 2019 before decamping to Mexico where she stayed to record her debut EP, Channel Zero.

After much anticipation, Kate Clover is now back, sharing the full EP a day early with Under the Radar’s readers.

In many ways, Channel Zero follows in the steps of fellow ‘70s punk revivalists like Amyl and The Sniffers. But there’s a distinct West Coast feel Kate Clover evokes that feels all her own. Whether it be the sunny and instantly memorable lyrics of “Channel Zero” (CIA gave my baby LSD) or the ripping garage rock take on girl-group melodies found with “Love You To Death,” Clover is always memorable. She gets a further assist on the production end from Brandon Welchez of Crocodiles adding some hefty instrumental presence to the tumbling “Roulette” or no-holds-barred punk of “Tearjerker.”

Clover also shared with us a few words regarding her debut: “The EP was written during an epiphany in my life where I stopped giving a fuck. Not in a destructive way but in a liberating way of allowing myself to feel free. I wrote it with Brandon Welchez in Mexico City. Being in another country far away from my ordinary life felt like the creative reset I needed. I felt a lot of clarity and was able to find my true direction.”

“The part where I don’t give a shit about what other people think about me. I spent too much time worrying about unimportant things and unimportant people. Not giving a fuck about things that don’t matter is contagious and I hope people catch on. It’s one of the best things you can do for yourself.”

She continues, sharing her main hope for the record: “I hope the songs get stuck in their head!” That much at least is all but guaranteed given how relentlessly catchy the EP is.

Fans of Clover’s live act, showcased on her Channel Zero TV livestreams, also won’t have long to wait until they can see the real thing. Clover has just confirmed her first 2021 live date at the Freak Out Festival in Seattle.

Until then, check out the EP below, streaming early exclusively through Under the Radar.