Tag: Wax Poetics

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Monophonics and Kendra Morris Team Up on a Soulful Meditation on Life on the Road

Since their formation, Bay Area-based soul outfit and JOVM mainstays Monophonics —  Kelly Finnigan (lead vocals, keys), Austin Bohlman (drums), Ryan Scott (trumpet, backing vocals, percussion), and Max Ramey (bass) – have developed and honed a sound that continues in the classic and beloved tradition of Stax Records, Muscle Shoals, Daptone Records and Dunham Records, recorded on vintage analog recording gear and paired with a healthy amount of old-fashioned woodshedding and craft. “We’re from the same school as the producers from the studios we love. We use the tools that we have to make the best records we can,” the band explained in press notes. 

Monophonics’ third album, 2020’s It’s Only Us, which featured “Chances,” and “It’s Only Us” received praise from the likes of Billboard, Flood, Cool Hunting and American Songwriter, while selling 10,000 physical copies and amassing over 20 million streams across the various digital streaming platforms. Thematically, It’s Only Us touched upon unity in a fractious and divisive world, strength, resilience, acceptance — and of course, love.

Their fourth album, last year’s Kelly Finnigan-produced Sage Motel derived its title from a real place — The Sage Motel. What started as a quaint motor lodge and common pitstop for travelers and truckers in the 1940s, morphed into a bohemian hang out by the 1960s and 1970s: Artists, musicians and vagabonds of all stripes would stop there, as seedy ownership pumped obnoxious mounts of money into high-end renovations, which eventually attracted some of the most prominent acts of the era. But when the money ran out, the motel quickly devolved into a hot sheet hotel.

If The Sage Motel’s walls could talk, they’d tell you tales of human highs and lows, of a place where big dreams and broken hearts live, and where people frequently have found themselves at a crossroads — often without quite knowing how they wound up there. Thematically, the album tackles all of those subjects — with the band further cementing their reputation as one of the world’s premier psychedelic soul bands.

JOVM mainstay Kendra Morris is a Florida-born, New York-based singer/songwriter, musician, and multi-disciplinary artist. As a singer/songwriter and musician, Morris can trace the origins of her music career to discovering the joys of multi-tracking and harmonizing with herself on a karaoke machine in the closet of her childhood home. 

Morris went on to play in cover bands in Florida before relocating to New York with her band, which played her original material. Her first band split up and she dealt with the aftermath by writing material alone on an 8-track recorder in her closet. Sometime after, she met longtime collaborator and producer Jeremy Page and signed to Wax Poetics, who released her full-length debut, 2012’s Banshee. 

The Florida-born, New York-based JOVM mainstay self-released her sophomore effort 2016’s Babble. She then went on to collaborate with DJ Premier, 9th Wonder, MF DOOM, Czarface, Ghostface Killah, Dennis Coffey and Dave Sitek among others. And while being a grizzled, New York scene vet, Morris’ work generally embodies a broader sense of American culture, drawing from a wide array of influences across music and film dating back to the mid 20th Century. 

Last year’s Nine Lives was the Florida-born, New York-based JOVM’s mainstay’s first full-length album in about a decade. The album represented a major turning point in her life both professionally and personally for Morris: The album heralds the beginning of a new chapter, an evolution to the next level of adulthood — and the first on her new label,  Karma Chief Records. Thematically, the album’s material encapsulates moments from what could easily be nine lifetimes lived over a chronological time period — or nine lives lived simultaneously in parallel and convergent realties in the multiverse.

Last year, the JOVM mainstays and labelmates toured together and they’ve finally collaborated on a song together — the woozy and trippy soul jam “Untitled Visions.” Built around a strutting yet cinematic arrangement that serves as a perfect vehicle for Finnigan’s and Morris’ soulful vocals, “Untitled Visions” is about the hectic and bizarre lifestyle that comes from being on tour. The song’s narrators dive into the feelings of boredom, anxiety, anticipation, stress, fun and more that one feels while living a life on the road.

The accompanying video feature edited footage of 50s and 60s era cars driving on the highways, byways and streets, flowers bursting to life and then contracting, a Fred Astaire-like dancer performing — and seemingly heading off to the next tour stop.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Kendra Morris Shares Slow-Burning and Intimate “Circle Eights”

Kendra Morris is a Florida-born, New York-based singer/songwriter, multi-disciplinary artist and newest JOVM mainstay. Now, as you might recall, as a singer/songwriter and musician, Morris can trace the origins of her music career to discovering the joys of multi-tracking and harmonizing with herself on a karaoke machine in the closet of her childhood home.

Morris then went on to play in cover bands in her home state before relocating to New York with her band, which played her original material. Her first band split up and she dealt with the aftermath by writing material alone on an 8-track in her closet. Sometime after, she met longtime collaborator and producer Jeremy Page and signed to Wax Poetics, who released her full-length debut, 2012’s Banshee. 

Morris self-released her sophomore effort 2016’s Babble. Then she went on to collaborate with the likes of DJ Premier, 9th Wonder, MF DOOM, Czarface, Ghostface Killah, Dennis Coffey and Dave Sitek among others. And while being a grizzled, New York scene vet, Morris’ work generally embodies a broader sense of American culture, drawing from a wide array of influences across music and film dating back to the mid 20th Century. 

The Florida-born, New York-based artist’s long-awaited sophomore album Nine Lives was released last week through Karma Chief Records. While being her first full-length album in a decade, the album represents a major turning point in her life both professional and personally: The album for her heralds the beginning of a new chapter; an evolution to the next level of adulthood; and the first on her new label. The album’s material encapsulates moments from what could easily be nine lifetimes lived over a chronological time period — or nine lives lived simultaneously in parallel and convergent realities in the multiverse. 

In the lead up to the album’s release last week, I managed to write about two of its singles:

  • “Penny Pincher,” a slow-burning ballad about reaching the end of the road in a relationship, fueled by regret, heartache, acceptance and steely determination to go forward with your life.
  • “Nine Lives” is a strutting, hook-driven bit of soul pop jam centered around Morris’ sultry vocals, stuttering boom bap beats, squiggling guitar, and glistening Rhodes arpeggios that sounds as though it could have been released between 1992-1996 or so. 

The album’s latest single “Circle Eights” is a slow-burning song centered around twinkling Rhodes, a sinuous bass line, a steady rhythm and Morris’ soulful vocals full of a deeply aching yearning. “Circle Eights is about the feeling of being outside of yourself and feeling kind of alone and awkward even when you’re surrounded by your friends,” the New York-based JOVM mainstay explains. “I remember hanging out at a rooftop party in Brooklyn one summer night and looking around at all the people I was with plus the groups of people I didn’t know and just lifting my glass and laughing out loud and yet feeling like I wasn’t really there. Like I was just watching a movie and I was thinking.. Where do I fit in all this right now? 

Directed by Morris, the accompanying video for “Circle Eights” sees the JOVM mainstay employing stop motion animation and live action as it follows the secret adventures of an old toy through Morris’ apartment. At points, this beloved toy seems to be watching a life as though they’re a passive observer “I made the accompanying video using what I had on hand and shot using stop motion animation combined with live action around my apartment while I had covid,” she explains. “I love a good challenge and believe that with a good idea you can make anything exciting.. and so began my covid adventure.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Florida-born, New York-based singer/songwriter and multi-disciplinary artist Kendra Morris. As a musician, Morris can trace the origins of her music career to discovering the joys of multi-tracking and harmonizing with herself on a karaoke machine in the closet of her childhood home. She then went on to play in cover bands in her home state before relocating to New York with her band, which played her original material. (EDITOR’S NOTE: Around that same time, Morris was one of my bartenders at The Library Bar on Avenue A in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Also Megasus is the best bar mascot ever. Megasus forever.)

That band split up and Morris dealt with the aftermath by writing material alone on an 8-track in her closet. Sometime after, she met longtime collaborator and producer Jeremy Page and signed to Wax Poetics, who released her full-length debut, 2012’s Banshee.

Morris self-released 2016’s Babble and went on to collaborate with the likes of DJ Premier, 9th Wonder, MF DOOM, Czarface, Ghostface Killah, Dennis Coffey and Dave Sitek among others. And while being a grizzled, New York scene vet, Morris’ work generally embodies a broader sense of American culture, drawing from a wide array of influences across music and film dating back to the mid 20th Century.

The Florida-born, New York-based artist’s long-awaited sophomore album Nine Lives is slated for a February 18, 2022 release through Karma Chief Records. While being her first full-length album in a decade, the album represents a major turning point in her life both professional and personally: The album for her heralds the beginning of a new chapter; an evolution to the next level of adulthood; and the first on her new label. Interestingly, Nine Lives‘ material reportedly encapsulates moments from what could easily be nine lifetimes lived over a chronological time period — or nine lives lived simultaneously in parallel and convergent realities in the multiverse.

Nine Lives‘ latest single “Penny Pincher” is a slow- burning ballad centered around a gorgeous yet spectral arrangement of strummed guitar, Morris’ soulful and achingly plaintive vocals and bursts of atmospheric keys. And at its core Morris expresses the regret, heartache, acceptance and steely determination that comes from a relationship that has reached its inevitable end.

“”Penny Pincher” is the moment of reaching the end of the road with someone,” Morris explains. “They have no idea that you’re already there and you’re just adding pennies and dimes up both literally and metaphorically until you have the strength to leave. I can speak from experience regarding this situation.. unfortunately multiple times. It is the worst feeling. Limbo is indeed a circle of hell.”