SONG PREMIERE: Kendall Street Company Traverse Hypnotic Soundscape on “Waiting on a Train”

Kendall Street Company is a jam-alt rock band based out of Charlottesville, Virginia. From late night jam sessions at the University of Virginia to main stages at venues and festivals throughout the country, Kendall Street Company has broken the mold of improvised rock and entered a world of jazz-grass infused psychedelic bliss. The band’s musical style embraces mind-altering riffs as well as soulful and jazzy wit, while remaining true to their folksy songwriting roots. With no two shows ever the same, word of mouth has quickly grown a ravenous fanbase eager to hear their favorite studio tracks explored and extended as part of a live community. As seasoned KSC fans can tell you, any one of their songs could easily turn from a fun sing-along to a cacophonous headbanging garage-rock soundscape, before finally resolving into a peaceful ambience.

Averaging over 100 shows per year since 2013, the band is currently comprised of Louis Smith [Acoustic guitar, vox], Brian Roy [Bass], Ryan Wood [Drums], Ben Laderberg [Electric guitar], and Jake Vanaman [Saxophones, keys]. For such a young band, their accomplishments are commendable. Kendall Street has performed at festivals such as Lockn’, Roosterwalk, Floydfest, Resonance, and Domefest and has opened for acts such as Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Papadosio, Umphrey’s McGee, Tauk, and Leftover Salmon. All the while, the band has proudly released three records and three EPs to regional and national acclaim.

Kendall Street Company has accrued over 5 million Spotify streams and 80,000 monthly listeners across their six studio releases. Their highly anticipated fourth studio album, The Stories We Write For Ourselves, comes out this month, following one of the strangest summers to date. The poignantly timed collection of songs, announced with the surprise release of the lead single “Lady in Green” on September 1st, provides an uplifting message of cautious hope. Delving into some serious songwriting and experimentation with new sonic techniques, The Stories We Write For Ourselves represents an honest engagement with the self and is just a taste of what The Company has to offer.

“Waiting on a Train,” the third single from their upcoming LP (The Stories We Write For Ourselves), releases on October 8th of this year and is just a taste of what The Stories We Write For Ourselves has to offer. Today Glide is excited to offer an exclusive premiere of the tune ahead of its release. Leading with a solemn banjo, the song is a moodier and slower track that finds the band traversing a hypnotic soundscape as they gradually layer instruments to give the song a textural sense. It is especially neat to hear the way the band harmonizes that is at once haunting and mellow, with intriguing vocal effects interacting with the psychedelic and spacey synth. The song features Jake Vanaman, Brian Roy, and Ryan Wood singing backup vocals. Ben plays the banjo. Jake plays the synth. Brian on bass. Ryan on drums and shaker. I’m bopping the clave.

“The writing sessions for ‘Waiting On A Train’ started with a voice memo set to this hypnotic riff that I had been toying with for a while” lead vocalist songwriter Louis Smith tells Glide Magazine. “That riff felt to me like a pendulum swinging back and forth, reminiscent of someone waiting on a train, wondering what will happen next but taking no action to make anything happen. I happened to be reading Stephen King’s novel ‘The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands’ around the same time, and for a lot of that book the Gunslinger is looking for a train, so that sci-fi/western vibe made its way into the tune for sure.”

LISTEN:

For more music and info visit kendallstreetcompany.com

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