Have you ever spoken with someone and just known that they were destined for great things at some point during that conversation? Speaking with Mo Kenney is like that. During Ground Control's conversation with the singer, it quickly became apparent that this young girl from Waverley, NS is the first in a new generation of singer-songwriters. She is soft-spoken but observant in the same way Neko Case was at the beginning of her career, and almost cavalier in her dismissals of those who would do her injustice. These things inhabit Mo Kenney – there's no question of that – but she isn't so headstrong as to defiantly feign indifference to what's happening around her; as she tours across the country for the first time with Joel Plaskett right now, in fact, she actively has to stop herself from gushing at the fact that she's getting to live a personal dream. “This has been a pretty wild trip already, and we're only a few dates in,” chuckles Kenney nervously. “When I sat my mom and dad down and told them that I was going on a two-week tour opening up for Joel Plaskett, they were pretty excited for me. I think now they understand that I might be able to make a living doing this after all.”
If the singer's parents weren't convinced that Kenney might have a bright future by the fact that she's touring with a celebrated singer like Plaskett, one listen to her debut album should do the trick. It feels awkward to just blurt that out, but Mo Kenney has achieved a craft on the level with artists including Ani DiFranco, Stevie Nicks, Jolie Holland and Neko Case on her self-titled debut. From the top of “Eden,” the singer conjures a sort of classic coffeehouse acousticism which turned timeless for acts including The Beatles (“Blackbird”), The Replacements (“Skyway”), The Killjoys (“Someplace”) and Ani DiFranco (“Both Hands”) years ago – but the singer makes her own here. The song's fingerpicked guitars are only the gateway which will hold listeners dazzled as lyrics like “Busy, busy, go go go/ Run around don't let me know/ All we do is dream out loud/ and you see your own face in the clouds” threaten to rewrite the bodily rhythms of those who hear them. After “Eden” prepares listeners, Kenney sets to presenting as complete an image of herself – that is, who she is at this point in time – as she can. As she builds that image, she totally disarms herself in front of listeners (check out “The Great Escape”) as well as present a much larger and imposing figure for them (you have to hear the size of “Deja Vu” for yourself to believe it), but the best moments are those when Kenney allows herself to fall perfectly at the midpoint between those poles. Tracks like “Sucker,” “I Can't Talk” and “Scene Of The Crime” represent perfect examples of that midpoint where Kenney is able to teeter between heartfelt and cavalier effortlessly and make lines like “Before you left me in this place/ You gave me a look that I could taste,” “I won't pray to you/ There's no cross around my neck” and “A lifetime in no time at all” seem like the newest, best reason to believe in indie rock again, and listeners will find themselves hoping to hear more of them at each turn through the album's run-time.
At hearing such glowing praise of her work (this writer had to tell her), it's easy to tell that Mo Kenney is not accustomed to such flattery – so she quickly makes sure that everyone who was involved with the album gets a bit of credit for it. First, she makes sure that producer and co-writer Joel Plaskett gets his due. “I had a collection of songs that I was already considering for this record when the opportunity to make it came up, but the choices for which ones really should be on it came pretty easily after we got in there,” remembers Kenney of the process which shaped her album. We also wrote three songs in the studio – “Scene Of The Crime,” “In My Lungs” and “Deja Vu” are co-writes that I did with Joel, and we wrote them while we were in the studio.”
Co-writing with Joel was a really awesome experience,” continues Kenney as she glows a little at the memory. “I've found that I really enjoy co-writing and working on songs with another person anyway, but it was a little different when we did it in the studio. In order to co-write with somebody, you really have to tear some walls down; you can't be afraid to make yourself look like an idiot if you have a suggestion. You kind of have to get to know each other on a deeper level that you might know most people. Most people would say that sounds hard to do and, I guess it is, in some ways – but working with Joel proved to be really easy because he just really wanted to make sure I put out the best record I could.”
There's no question that Kenney was clearly satisfied and happy with the experience of making her debut album, but the singer says she has really seen how the effort put into the record has paid off now while on tour, promoting it. She has found more inspiration on the road now as she sees how audiences are absorbing her music and appreciating the shows. “I'm actually planning on doing a bunch more writing now while I'm on the road,” muses the singer at the experiences she's enjoyed since the beginning of the tour. “I mean, after shows, in hotels in the van or whatever. I'm not planning on taking a break or blocking time to write, then blocking time to record and then blocking time to tour – I'll probably be doing them all at the same time. In fact, I figure that the sooner I start writing now, the sooner I'll have enough material or an excess amount of it to choose from when it comes time to record. If it works out, I'll probably take the opportunity to test it out on people in a live setting too; try it out while it's still fresh.”
Artist:
www.mokenney.com/
www.facebook.com/mokenneymusic
www.twitter.com/Mo_kenney
Further Reading:
Ground Control Magazine – Mo Kenney – s/t – [Album]
Album:
Mo Kenney is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
