Reveal Records album, 20th April 2009
A musician’s life in New York City can be difficult, and it’s almost impossible to survive as a jobbing musician alone, so instead you set the alarm every morning and head to your day job in midtown. For Kendall Jane Meade of Mascott, however, a steady paycheck grants her the freedom to indulge in her favorite job, one that has sustained her (and her fans) for years: an artist.
Released late last year in the US on her own Red Panda Records, the aptly-titled Art Project, going under the Mascott banner, is a gorgeous collection of songs that showcase a songwriter unhindered by expectation, pressure or obligation. The result - clocking in at a tidy 25 minutes - is an indie-pop stunner with a down-at-home feel: intimate, relaxed and beautiful, a personal journal of sorts ruminating on city life and loves.
Combining the enigmatic, ’60s pop of cult favorite Margo Guryan with the mellow, modern pop of Camera Obscura, the new record reflects Kendall’s growth as a songwriter, and also as a performer. Her honeyed voice is wistful and true as ever, and love is the pre-eminent theme: finding it (“Press Play”), holding onto it (“Live Again”, “Opposite”), reigniting it (“4th of July”), and, finally, losing it (“Like Letting Go Of The Sun,” “Nite Owl”, Wildwood Flower”). Kendall says, “In my day-to-day life I feel the need for restraint... with these songs, I say what I want to say, create the melodies and guitar parts that are natural for me, and I don’t worry about the outcome.”
Written over the course of two years and recorded on weekends at The Fort in Brooklyn (interrupted in late 2007 when Kendall wrote the score for an off-Broadway play), Kendall and producer James Bentley reassembled longtime Mascott members Dave Derby, Margaret White and Jud Ehrbar to perform on the album. Stellar contributions were added from friends including Anders Parker (Gob Iron), Rainy Orteca (Dead Air, Joan As Police Woman), and Darren Jessee (Hotel Lights), as well as Anna Padgett (The Naysayer), who duets on the old Carter Family standard “Wildwood Flower”.
But it’s hardly first time round for Kendall, who spent years touring with beloved acts like Sparklehorse (ion vocals, keys & bass guitar), Helium, and The Spinanes, making her own records in between times, her 1998 debut, the hushed, five-song acoustic EP, Electric Poems, followed by her full-length debut, Follow the Sound (Le Grand Magistery) in 2000. Produced by Jim O’Rourke (Wilco, Beth Orton, Joanna Newsome), the record was an artistic step forward that set the stage for follow-up Dreamer’s Book, hailed by The New York Times as “serenely tuneful” and “quietly radiant” and released on her own label (in the US), Red Panda Records. The title track was plucked for a Starbucks/Hear Music compilation, the song “Turn Off/ Turn On” was featured on The O.C., and she later co-wrote and recorded an original song featured on Grey’s Anatomy. Incidentally, Reveal Records Tom Rose’s introduction to Mascott came via Gramency Arms with whom Mascott recorded a 2008 Xmas single ‘This Christmastime’.
“She turns folk-rock into stately pop, wrapping vulnerability and longing in quietly radiant arrangements.”
New York Times
“Mascott's Kendall Meade isn't speaking directly to you - it just seems that way. The intimacy starts with chamber pop - choruses buttressed by string and piano. Lyrics aren't confessional, but rather built on mundane details that add up to profound joy or sadness.” Marie-Claire USA
“Sweet music - not to be confused with saccharin-sweet music.” Billboard
“Her best album yet...” Spin Artist Of The Day Mascott | Spin Magazine Online
Released late last year in the US on her own Red Panda Records, the aptly-titled Art Project, going under the Mascott banner, is a gorgeous collection of songs that showcase a songwriter unhindered by expectation, pressure or obligation. The result - clocking in at a tidy 25 minutes - is an indie-pop stunner with a down-at-home feel: intimate, relaxed and beautiful, a personal journal of sorts ruminating on city life and loves.
Combining the enigmatic, ’60s pop of cult favorite Margo Guryan with the mellow, modern pop of Camera Obscura, the new record reflects Kendall’s growth as a songwriter, and also as a performer. Her honeyed voice is wistful and true as ever, and love is the pre-eminent theme: finding it (“Press Play”), holding onto it (“Live Again”, “Opposite”), reigniting it (“4th of July”), and, finally, losing it (“Like Letting Go Of The Sun,” “Nite Owl”, Wildwood Flower”). Kendall says, “In my day-to-day life I feel the need for restraint... with these songs, I say what I want to say, create the melodies and guitar parts that are natural for me, and I don’t worry about the outcome.”
Written over the course of two years and recorded on weekends at The Fort in Brooklyn (interrupted in late 2007 when Kendall wrote the score for an off-Broadway play), Kendall and producer James Bentley reassembled longtime Mascott members Dave Derby, Margaret White and Jud Ehrbar to perform on the album. Stellar contributions were added from friends including Anders Parker (Gob Iron), Rainy Orteca (Dead Air, Joan As Police Woman), and Darren Jessee (Hotel Lights), as well as Anna Padgett (The Naysayer), who duets on the old Carter Family standard “Wildwood Flower”.
But it’s hardly first time round for Kendall, who spent years touring with beloved acts like Sparklehorse (ion vocals, keys & bass guitar), Helium, and The Spinanes, making her own records in between times, her 1998 debut, the hushed, five-song acoustic EP, Electric Poems, followed by her full-length debut, Follow the Sound (Le Grand Magistery) in 2000. Produced by Jim O’Rourke (Wilco, Beth Orton, Joanna Newsome), the record was an artistic step forward that set the stage for follow-up Dreamer’s Book, hailed by The New York Times as “serenely tuneful” and “quietly radiant” and released on her own label (in the US), Red Panda Records. The title track was plucked for a Starbucks/Hear Music compilation, the song “Turn Off/ Turn On” was featured on The O.C., and she later co-wrote and recorded an original song featured on Grey’s Anatomy. Incidentally, Reveal Records Tom Rose’s introduction to Mascott came via Gramency Arms with whom Mascott recorded a 2008 Xmas single ‘This Christmastime’.
“She turns folk-rock into stately pop, wrapping vulnerability and longing in quietly radiant arrangements.”
New York Times
“Mascott's Kendall Meade isn't speaking directly to you - it just seems that way. The intimacy starts with chamber pop - choruses buttressed by string and piano. Lyrics aren't confessional, but rather built on mundane details that add up to profound joy or sadness.” Marie-Claire USA
“Sweet music - not to be confused with saccharin-sweet music.” Billboard
“Her best album yet...” Spin Artist Of The Day Mascott | Spin Magazine Online
