ARTIST PROFILE
******* 7/10 N.M.E CD OUT NOW
"Art Project" The Album.CD + Bonus Track, Digital Download Album.
Mascott is a tender indie rock band helmed by New York's Kendall Jane Meade that combines soft piano and guitar pop with diary-like lyrical intimacy.
Kendall’s musical heroes include Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and The Zombies, and her songs embody that reverence with soaring harmonies and deceptively simple construction. Her lyrics deal mainly with themes of love and loss, rarely venturing into the allegorical or polemic subjects of her folk progenitors, but holding true to the daily struggles of the human heart. As a struggling musician and label owner who also works a day job in New York City, Kendall knows all about paying dues and how great a role compromise plays into creating art that one can truly call one’s own, though a cast of friends have been called upon to help realize it. Art Project is full of moments acknowledging those contributions, which includes the crystalline production by Jim Bentley of The Fort studio in Brooklyn. From the to insistent percussion behind the longing (if not quite patriotic) “4th of July” to the back-porch stylings of the traditional parlor song (popularized by the Carter Family) “Wildwood Flower,” Art Project presents true songcraft from the heart, which is something we all need to hear from time to time.
A recent review described the music as “ a twist of Aimee Mann-styled attitude between hopeful harmonies and walking bass lines, creating a rich and uplifting sound that’s sure to turn the heads of soul, pop, and indie fans alike.” Whilst The New York Times said: “Kendall Meade turns folk-rock into stately pop, wrapping vulnerability and longing in quietly radiant arrangements.”
Mascott’s album “Art Project” out now, featuring the single "4th of July"
GIGS
| Date | Time | Location | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Jun, 2009 | 7.30pm | London Slaughtered Lamb | London |
| 25 Jun, 2009 | 8pm | Glee Club | Birmingham |
REVIEWS
Wears The Trousers: Exclusive interview and Mp3 linked from homepage. "The perfect-for-springtime ‘4th Of July’ is released as a single on April 13th, but our friends at Reveal have given Wears The Trousers permission to host the song as an exclusive free download for one week only (see below). To celebrate we whizzed off our sorely neglected 40-item questionnaire to Kendall, who swiftly returned her 20 chosen responses…"
http://wearsthetrousers.com/2009/03/16/introducing-mascott/
God is in the TV: Free Mp3 featured. "New York singer/songwriter Mascott releases her new album ‘Art Project' on Reveal Records (home of A Camp, Joan As Police Woman etc) on the 20th April. Mascott is helmed by Kendall Meade, a NY resident who writes gentle piano-led folk rock. And we've been given an exclusive FREE download of her track "4th of July" scroll down below to get it. It's released as a single proper on the 13th of July. "
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/news/news_detail.php?id=1766
Real UK & Europe: Free Mp3 featured. "Here at RealMusic Blog we’re all about giving you free stuff - thoughts, love, wisdom and the odd MP3. Free to download this week we have one of New York’s finest purveyors of indie-pop in the form of Mascott - aka Kendall Meade. The first single from forthcoming album Art Project is 4th Of July and it’s heavy on the summer vibe, a relaxed and laidback track to flood your day. Mascott’s mellow sound has already garnered favourable reviews stateside - click to download to hear what all the fuss is about."
http://uk.real.com/music/blog/
FDM: Free Mp3 featured as lead feature box. "But before all that a free Mp3 has been released of one of the album's stand-out tracks. '4th of July' is classic seventies-tinged pop majesty that finds a welcoming place midway between Joni Mitchell-like confessional folk delicacy and the dream pop of Azure Ray."
http://www.freshdeermeat.com/eatmore.php?id=97
Music OMH: 3/5 Album review. "Art Project works best when Meade strips away the indie pop layering and sings alone over her own acoustic guitar. Red Flowers is a beautifully restrained modern folk song that suits Meade's girlish vocals, while her cover of the old Carter Family standard Wildwood Flower (featuring Anna Padgett of The Naysayer) is ramshackle but endearing."
http://www.musicomh.com/albums/mascott_0409.htm
Indie London: 4/5 Album review. "Indeed, there’s barely a dud song on the album, with breezy bonus track Oh Pehhy ushering the LP to a close in supremely engaging fashion and making you want to hear it all over again. And at a tidy 25 minutes, that’s not a big ask. You’ll want to hear more from her…"
http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/mascott-art-project
Rock Feedback: 4/5 Positive single review. "It’s pretty as Spring-time rain, and for once, it is over far too soon, as indeed in her 25 minute-clocking album, Art Project. This is a faultless introduction to a standout voice in a genre so often lacking in unique voices. "
http://www.rockfeedback.com/article.asp?nObjectID=6271
TIME OUT NEW YORK "...a nicely earthy new record."
PHILLY DAILY NEWS MASCOTT, “Art Project” (Red Panda) ???1/2 Technically, Mascott are an indie pop group, but the band begins and ends with singer/songwriter Kendall Jane Meade, with a beautifully soothing voice perfectly suited for the wistful tunes she writes. “Art Project” is Mascott’s third release overall, but the first since 2004’s sublime “Dreamer’s Book.” Part of the reason for the delay was Meade taking time to write music and lyrics for an off-Broadway play. Yes, the lady knows her stuff. Though nine songs long, “Art Project” clocks in at a crisp 23-plus minutes, giving it the feel of an EP. To Meade’s credit, she has crafted a handful of first-rate tunes — opener “Live Again,” “Press Play (And Then Repeat),” “Red Flowers,” “Like Letting Go of the Sun” — and hasn’t padded the album with any filler tracks. And that’s an all-too-rare commodity these days. -Jeffrey Sisk
THE DELI Honey-voiced Kendall Jane Meade—the brains and beauty behind New York's Mascott—knows her way around both a lilting ballad and an indie-pop anthem, forms she's thoughtfully explored on her two previous albums. On “Art Project”, her band Mascott's chiming new record (the second for her label Red Panda, also home to The Naysayer and early Jennifer O'Conner), Meade's seductive tones caress the ear and the heart like a lover's whisper; her deceptively simple, folk-rock inflections and subtle lyrics linger long after the album has run its too-brief course. Transcending the "sensitive girl with a guitar" cliche.., she's one to watch for — and to listen to again and again. - LD Beghtol
LUCID CULTURE Their rep is indie but they’re really an excellent rock/pop band: great midtempo/slow tunes, casually unpretentious vocals and terse songwriting from Kendall Jane Meade.
EARDRUMS MUSIC Kendall Jane Meade is the main woman behind New York’s Mascott and “head-panda” of her own label Red Panda Records, where her new album “Art Project” is released these days. Like her previous Mascott-albums, this is intimate, dreamy and gentle indie-pop with folk-influences, and I find the press-release quite precise when it says “part Joni Mitchell part Dusty Springfield and part Camera Obscura“. I would like to add a couple of my own favourites to the list, as I find her “part Innocence Mission, part The Owls and part Margo Guryan” too. The songs are quite light hearted, but also deep enough to make an impact both musically and lyrically. Very nice, melodic pop music. Meade is kind of a veteran in the indie-world, and she has been making and releasing music as Mascott for 10 years now. Prior to that, she fronted the indierock band Juicy and was a touring member of Helium and Spinanes.
Jules from WTJU wrote this awesome piece on the record too!
BABYSUE REVIEW We just love pure fluff pop...and the lead track on this album is about as good as pure fluff pop gets. The chorus of the tune "Live Again" consists of nothing but "La-la-la-la-la-la" sung over and over again. And the amazing part is that...it works. Mascott is the current project being driven by the songwriting skills of Kendall Jane Meade who some folks may remember as a member of the 1990s band Juicy. Art Project is a luscious and inviting dose of smart soft pop...delivered with sincere energy and determination. Not only is Meade an excellent songwriter, but she has a voice that is so smooth and inviting that you can't help but fall in love with her subdued easygoing pop. If you are searching for ultra-weird challenging art pop, you won't find it here. But if you are in the mood for some soothing super hummable soft pop that will sound good for years to come...Art Project will most certainly fill the bill. Killer keepers include "Live Again," "4th of July," "Opposite," and "Wildwood Flower." (Rating: 5+)
penstantos.com NYC’s Mascott is flashing her feminine flair with her third full-length album, Art Project, set to arrive on Nov. 11. Mascott layers a twist of Aimee Mann-styled attitude between hopeful harmonies and walking bass lines, creating a rich and uplifting sound that’s sure to turn the heads of soul, pop, and indie fans alike. The first single from Art Project, “Press Play (And Then Repeat),” walks but doesn’t crawl, pops with sparse, wiry guitar chords, and follows the bass up and down mountains of happy pop sweetness.
mainstreamisntsobad.blogspot.com "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." -Kendall Jane Meade, on the creation of Art Project
Every so often I come across an artist that's been around for a while and yet somehow has avoided working their way into my ear. In today's particular case, her name is Kendall Jane Meade, and she's been around for somewhere around fifteen years, both as a member of 90's indie group Juicy and then later setting out on her own under the name Mascott. You might just want to group Kendall with the countless other female singer/songwriters out there in the world, but you'd be missing something special. To be completely honest, I'm not exactly sure what sets her above her peers, but from the first listen I knew this was going to be an album that I'd return to and enjoy. As you might guess, the focus here is on Kendall's voice, a honeyed sweetness that doesn't get cutesy and sickly on you. Behind her, light instrumentation supports songs about love, its finding and its loss. Although it's been awhile since I've listened to their music, it reminds me of Eisley (who are in the process of putting together their new album supposedly!). And then to seal the deal, the album ends with a cover of June Carter Cash's Wildwood Flower, a heartbreaking song that I just love.
LINKS
CONTACT
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| MATT BROWN / STAY LOOSE PR matt@stayloose.co.uk matt@stayloose.co.uk |
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