“As an indie musician, it’s a little too easy to take yourself too seriously,” says singer/songwriter Madeline Kenney. We’re discussing her recent music videos for “All I Need” and “Scoop,” collaborations with Carpark Records labelmate Jimmy Whispers — who’s recently taken up music video directing — that showcase a not-entirely-serious side of Madeline. “Scoop,” the most recent video from Kenney and Whispers features Madeline playing the role of a postmodern Joan of Arc on roller skates, leading a likewise roller-skated brigade of sorts, which she tells me during a recent phone chat was actually one of the inspirations behind the song itself: “For that song, I was thinking of a Joan of Arc archetype, a female warrior archetype, but kind of playful. When we were arranging, I was like, ‘I want you to have an image of Joan of Arc on roller skates!’”
“Scoop” and “All I Need” are both off of Madeline Kenney’s upcoming LP, Kiss From The Balcony, which drops this Friday, July 18th. The album is the first full-length courtesy of Kenney and longtime collaborators Ben Sloan and Stephen Patota, although Madeline tells me it wasn’t originally intended to be a full-length: “I didn’t even ask Carpark, I was just like, ‘We’re going to make an EP, we’re going into the studio next week,’ and they were like, ‘Actually, it’s hard to market EPs these day, so if you could make it an album…’” She even jokes about a handful of early responses to the collection, “Some people have said that it feels disjointed, but it’s like, you asked me to make an album out of an EP…” going on to explain, “To me, the cohesive factor is our collaboration… It honestly was just born of the joy we have working together, Stephen, Ben, and I. We all get excited about each other’s musicality.”
Madeline, Ben, and Stephen are gearing up to hit the road for a run of live shows next month which will have them headlining Warehouse On Watts August 22nd. And Kenney tells me that fans will definitely want to see the live version of the group’s collaboration: “I think it’s truly worth it to see Ben and Stephen. The reason I make music with Ben and Stephen is years ago I saw them play a bar, we shared a bill… I thought, ‘They are truly some of the best musicians I’ve ever seen in my life…’ They play with such joy and passion.” Of this particular live show, Madeline says, “We’re gonna play a lot of new songs and a fun cover and play some older songs, but play them less faithfully, a la Yo La Tengo, where people are like, ‘I think I know this song…’”
This month will also mark the fifth anniversary of Madeline Kenney’s second full-length for Carpark, Sucker’s Lunch, an album that Madeline tells me almost marked a turning point in her career: “For Sucker’s Lunch, we almost got signed to Jagjaguwar, but then at the last meeting, they were like, ‘Nah…’” But she tells me that she is still a fan of that collection of songs and how they came to be: “I’m really proud of that record, that was my one-year gap in living in Oakland. I’ve been in Oakland for eleven years, but I lived for a year in North Carolina with my friend Jenn [Wasner, of Flock of Dimes and Wye Oak], who produced the record… Rent was so fucking cheap down there!” She goes on to joke, “I like those songs, which isn’t always true when I’m looking back [laughs],” before admitting that the album did lead to at least one milestone: “Getting [Lambchop’s] Kurt Wagner to sing on ‘Sucker’ is my top accomplishment [laughs].”
When I ask Madeline Kenney what the future holds for her and her music, she admits that her current lifestyle as a musician is getting to be a bit too difficult to sustain: “This tour is gonna cost me so much money, touring is so expensive, and I don’t make any money… so I have to work a full-time job, which is just insane to me…” She even tells me that her August 22nd stop at Warehouse On Watts might be our last chance to see her performing live in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection: “What is next is my other projects… plates that I’m spinning, things I wanna do with my one precious life… I love music, but I don’t know that I’ll always tour… It might be the last one, is what I’m trying to say [laughs].”
*Get your tickets here.
