NYC Scene Report – Kendra Morris, Bird Streets, & Majorette

This week’s NYC Scene Report features Kendra Morris dealing with a “Flat Tire,” Bird Streets becoming an Escape Artist, and Majorette wanting to know what to do with some mystery meats.

* Kendra Morris will be releasing her next studio album, appropriately titled Next, on September 19th via Colemine / Karma Chief Records, but first she has to deal with a “Flat Tire.”

The latest single from the album, “Flat Tire” is a metaphor for Morris’ creative process.

Discussing the song in a statement, she said, it expresses “me and my maniacal ideas just trying to make my way, and a living in the world as an artist, as well as my stubbornness, and refusal to conform, which can sometimes lead to the results not being quite what I want – sometimes even a disaster, or a deflation, but never a failure. In the end I just have to laugh at myself, and be glad that I even tried in the first place.”

Musically, “Flat Tire” has a strong reggae influence, which comes from Morris’ childhood history of her parents bringing back records from their trips to Jamaica. The combination of the classic reggae vibe, and Morris’ soulful vocals, makes “Flat Tire” a bit reminiscent of Blondie’s “The Tide is High,” which is one heck of a reason to click play.

Enjoy “Flat Tire,” as we all look forward to what’s Next from Kendra Morris.

* Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bird Streets will be breaking free from whatever binds him this fall with the release of his third full-length album, The Escape Artist, the lead single off of which is the indie pop gem “Mistaker.”

Discussing “Mistaker” in a statement, Bird Streets said, “This may be the poppiest song about self-loathing I’ve ever written, and I am exceedingly proud of it. The way the verse is like one long melodic idea with no repeats, the imagery, all those damn hooks. The chord progression and guitar line make it sound a bit like a James Bond theme, while the bridge reminds me of the great Canadian band Sloan. This was the first thing (producer) Jason (Falkner) and I worked on for the record. I wrote, and started tracking it, at home in Brooklyn, but I think all that survived were the bridge harmonies, and maybe a guitar part or two.”

The video for “Mistaker,” which takes place, in part, at Grand Central Terminal, is just as great as the song, and co-stars column fave Kelsey Warren, aka Blak Emoji!

You really can’t go wrong with this one!

* Mystery meat isn’t something you want to encounter at a street cart, or in a cafeteria, but in the case of indie pop singer-songwriter Majorette, if you encounter it while moving into an apartment, you write a song about it.

This is the backstory of her recently released single, “Steaks,” which has one of the greatest opening lines in music history …

“My freezer was full of meat when I moved in.” 

Discussing the meat of “Steaks” in a statement, Majorette said, “Even though my landlord lived right downstairs, it took me months to return it because I was scared to talk to them. I eventually worked up the nerve to knock on their door, but not before playing out the best and worst case scenarios in my head. One side of me – confident that everything would be fine, and the other – imagining the worst possible outcome. This kind of thinking is what the whole song is about. The pun of steaks/stakes makes me laugh, and puts most problems into perspective. Maybe it’s not really that big of a deal?”

Click play on “Steaks,” as it’s a really fun – dare I say tasty – tune.

For more of the best of NYC’s indie music scene, come back next Wednesday, and check out the archives for previous columns.