Damn! Those Girls Can Sing: ZZ Ward and Kendra Morris

http://www.zzward.com

As I was looking through The New Junto last night there was one terrible, terrible thing that I noticed:  I haven’t highlighted any of the amazing female artists that I’ve been so fortunate to find.  Well, today that changes.  I would love to be the first to introduce you to these two 60’s-inspired, gritty, glamourous, and-oh-so-good goddesses of Pop, Funk and Soul: ZZ Ward and Kendra Morris.

http://www.zzward.com

I was fortunate to find these ladies, dead center in the heat of a massive excursion into the good ol’ Funk and Soul genres and, I’ll be honest, they’ve been solid fixtures in my day-to-day listening playlists ever since.  It’s hard to pick one to start with, but since I’ve actually had the pleasure of seeing Mrs. Ward live, I figure I should start with her.  This absolute goddess is a thing of amazement for me: incredible power behind those soulful vocals, great rhythm section parts (consisting of everything from synths to horn sections), and a great 60’s-brought-modern vibe.  Go drop yourself anywhere in her first release Till the Casket Drops and you’ll find yourself jamming out to a thick bottom end (drums and bass, fellas), sweet, seldom-heard guitar riffs, and great piano riffs that hold down the whole song.  I’d definitely recommend checking this first LP out as soon as possible, she has a new LP This Means War coming out soon!  For my favorites, go check out the title track and “Criminal (feat. Freddie Gibbs)” for some of the best written pieces on the album, bringing in just the perfect touch of Amy Winehouse styled grit while maintaining ZZ’s more innocent vibe.  Now that you’ve gotten a taste for ZZ Ward’s sound, it’s time to get just a bit more experimental.

http://www.kendramorrismusic.com/

When I first put on the amazing Mrs. Kendra Morris I was fortunate enough to drop into my favorite of all of her work “Concrete Waves”.  With a giant piano/bass part that’ll have your sub singing like Morris herself, this song really gives you a great idea of what you’ll get out of her first album Banshee.  Kendra Morris does a great job of having a certain happy feeling (maybe just in the more major parts of her songs) juxtaposed against a deep, dark and gritty vibe.  The switching between these parts really make the album a joy to listen to, always giving you something new and intriguing to listen to.  All of these parts, however, would be for not if it wasn’t for Kendra’s vocals, that have a great way of going from light and airy to deep and soulful, and making little chord changes pop with her outside-the-box choice of melody lines.  For all of you ladies who want to be singers, I recommend going and singing along with Kendra.  She shows off a great range and great, meticulous control over tone and timbre.  I’d go check her out ASAP as well, you never know when she could announce her next album.

https://www.facebook.com/kendramorrismusic

So there you go, two of the most soulful, sultry, sinfully divine female singers of this decade and the perfect re-intro into the world of Pop, Soul and Funk.  Go get yourself some Macy Gray and some Joss Stone and you’ll have a pretty strong lineup for this genre.

For ZZ Ward’s music go check these out: Itunes, Spotify, Youtube

For more of Kendra Morris: Itunes, Spotify, Youtube

Thanks for reading, keep on listening,

Casey Frasca

P.S. This one goes out to Kirsten (aka KNebulaa), I love where you’re going girl, keep it up.  Just one question though:  You’re still in my band????  Hmmmm…