Red Rover, Red Rover, Send Kendra On Over

A few weeks ago, I was checking out The Black Keys myspace page, you know how we love TBKs at NWMB, and I saw this pretty picture of a girl who left a comment. The picture had this 70s Christmas feel to it which made me interested enough to click to see more. That’s when I heard Kendra Morris for the first time. She’s not just a fan of The Black Keys like me, she’s a musician from Brooklyn, NY with a very cool sound. Like Cat Power? Then I think you’ll love Kendra.

From what I’ve gathered from Kendra’s Myspace page is that she’s quite a character, sassy, eclectic and adorable. An outside observer might guess she’d be an indie punk version of Lily Allen however her music is quite the contrary and more equated to indie soul. It’s a beautiful mix of low-fi melody and bluesy melancholy that produces this hugely soulful yet modern sound. The first song that caught my ear, which happened to be playing from the myspace music player, was a haunting yet gospel-esque rendition of You Don’t Own Me – that 60s classic by Leslie Gore. You can definitely hear in her voice that she once sang gospel in church (until she got into too much trouble with the boys). Now she prefers to hang out in her closet making lofi jams with her toys and instruments. Did I mention she’s into boomboxes and ghettoblasters too?

She has just released her first EP that is solid called This Won’t Hurt a Bit. I love every song on it but if I had to pick a favorite, there would be two: Teeth & Bones and Again. And looking into my crystal ball… with the popularity of Amy Winehouse right now, I think if Kendra plays her cards right, she definitely has a shot at the big leagues. She has that uniqueness and that special quality that stands out in front of the pack.

Check out Kendra’s myspace page. It’s chock-full of goodies: music to listen to & buy plus home videos to watch, even one that’s a mini-documentary starring none other than Kendra! She said she may be coming out our way soon, I certainly hope so, I can’t wait to see her and buy her a shot of Jack. She likes that.