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Kendra Flowers
Kendra Flowers - Soulo
 Having aggressively toured the Boston scene for a number of months, Kendra
Flowers recently settled into the studio for her solo debut, Soulo.
Apparently, the studio fit her well, for aside from a few circular sticking
points and overextensions, this is a mature and well-produced (by Matt
Ellard, no less) first effort. Combining multiple influences and multiple
voicings, Flowers paints musical motifs of maturing (“Turning The Page,”
“Ocean”), acceptance (“Burden”) and difficult personalities (“I Don’t Like
You Anymore,” “Narcissa”). Where “Page” and “Ocean” are reverberative and
airy, “Don’t Like You” and “Clothesline Blues” are flat-pickingly pulsed
and “Burden” takes chapters from both music books. “Clothesline” speaks
authentically of loss in a contemporary blues style and ”Narcissa” closes
the album with provocatively rhythmic sass. Even if she looks down at
those who would promote themselves, Kendra’s music should do a good job in
getting her name out there.
- Matthew S. Robinson
© 2000 M. S. Robinson, ARR
Kendra Flowers – Mix
(Unmastered Demo)
 Discovered while painting a house in the back woods, Kendra Flowers pulls
from a bluesy palette and an assortment of emotional brushes to create a
variety of musical pictures. Chugging open with “Clothesline Blues” (a
song she got so hung up on that she recorded it twice — with and without
spare and distant backing vocals), Kendra scats over into the darker and
smokier shades of “Fly On,” a simple song with some overly simple rhymes
and high-end overreaches. “Narcissa” is a jazzy blues tumble with bite
while “Into the Sunshine” is an easily spaced scatter with a bit of
breath-taking lyrical congestion in the chorus. Kendra slithers into the
upper upper registers in “Turning the Page” before diving back into the
swirling storytelling effects of “The Ocean.” The halting chorus of
“Burden” makes the song more aptly titled but its hard story is honest and
well-composed. Kendra closes the album by asking the bitingly bluesy
question “Why Can’t I” before answering with the final cut “I Just Don’t
Like You Anymore.” Throughout the album, Kendra’s guitar work ranges from
strong stabs to flowing falls. Overall, Flowers has a good set of pipes
and a mixed bag of trusty rusty and gleaming new music skills. The secret
to her success will be using her skills to allow her musical messages to
flow more easily and more consistently.
- Matthew S. Robinson
© 2000 M. S. Robinson, ARR
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