Without further ado, the May 2020 Needles & Grooves Album of the Month is:
KENDRA MORRIS - MOCKINGBIRD
Wax Poetics Records – WPR028
Released: 2013
Purchase a vinyl copy of the record DIRECT FROM KENDRA for $25 plus shipping at
Mockingbird gatefold LP. If you’d like it signed or personalized please specifics via CONTACT button along with your order number. Thanks!
www.kendramorrismusic.com
If you are considering purchasing the record (and I really hope you do), please note that Kendra Morris sells copies of this album and her other music/merch directly through her website. She will be mailing out the records herself. As she is in New York City, which as most everyone knows is currently one of the biggest hotbeds of covid and is in lockdown, she may not be able to ship orders as quickly as she would like.
To that end, she is offering to provide a free digital copy (320kbps mp3) of the album via a download link to you. In order to receive the download, pleasy copy your basic order information (like order # and time/date via email text/screenshot) and your email address and send to my PM inbox and I will share the link with you in a reply. This method will be quicker in getting the actual music to you than Kendra having to make time in her schedule to respond to everyone who orders.
Of course, you are free to purchase wherever you would like. It seems this album can be had at most of the usual online shops for roughly similar prices. But I sure would love it if you purchased it from Kendra herself. She'll even sign the record if you'd like.
WHY I PICKED THIS RECORD
Kendra Morris' music blends genres - soul, rock, psychedelic, funk, and more - with a sound that is both retro and modern. My main goal here is to simply introduce her music to our community, one that I know would appreciate this type of sound, and then let you explore her catalog if you liked what you heard. I felt that by choosing 'Mockingbird', a full-on covers album, I'd give Needles & Grooves members a relatively accessible entry point into her overall sound and vocal talents as she interprets songs we all know and love. On top of that, I feel Kendra Morris is low-key one of the most hard working artists I follow, with her creative endeavors extending beyond just the music she produces.
When you listen to 'Mockingbird', I'd encourage you to do so on good headphones so you can hear her many vocal harmonies that aren't necessarily evident on computer speakers through Spotify/YouTube/etc. Afterward, explore her other music, from her debut 'Banshee', also on Wax Poetics, to her self-released Babble. She has numerous singles on Bandcamp and Soundcloud. There is a lot of Kendra Morris music out there, and hopefully your journey in discovering it all starts right now.
KENDRA MORRIS INFORMATION
website:
Kendra Morris
Insta:
KENDRA MORRIS (@kendramorris) • Instagram photos and videos
Twitter:
KendraMorris (@KendraMorris) | Twitter
YouTube:
Kendra Morris
Bandcamp:
Ride On, by Kendra Morris
Soundcloud:
Facebook:
Kendra Morris
TONIGHT (4/24/20) ONLY
Kendra is doing two livestream type events tonight.
One is a 20-minute live performance for an Alice Magazine Virtual Happy Hour event via Zoom Meetings. Kendra is scheduled to be on from 6:25-6:45 EDT.
A L I CE M A G A Z I NE (@alice_magazine) • Instagram photos and videos
The other is one of Kendra's frequent late night Karoake Happy Hours she hosts
on her Instagram page. During this time of social distancing and being in lockdown, Kendra has been having fun performing karoake for her followers to help find fun diversions from current daily life. Karaoke Happy Hour is scheduled at 10p EDT and has a theme of 'TV Movie Night'.