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Aug 15, 2018 By Christopher Roberts Madeline Kenney

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Madeline Kenney is releasing her sophomore album, Perfect Shapes, on October 5 via Carpark. Previously she shared a video for its first single, “Cut Me Off” (which was our #1 Song of the Week). Now she has shared another new song from the album, “Overhead,” via a self-directed video. In it she appears to be in a haunted house. The song is about Kenney’s decision not to have children. Watch the video below. She’s also announced some more tour dates, which are below too. It’s all via Stereogum.

Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak and Flock of Dimes produced the album, although “Overhead” is the one song produced by Ben Sloan instead of Wasner.

Kenney had this to say about “Overhead” in a statement to Stereogum: “Lyrically, ‘Overhead’ is about the societal expectations of women to have children, my own grappling with those expectations, and considering the value and depth in my life without children. For the video, I wanted to express that idea through the image of an arid, lofty, haunted house - not traditionally creepy, but moreso haunted by my own personal demons. The women dancers come in to exorcise those demons out, offset the heaviness, and call attention to the fact that a lot of us are having the same internal conversations. During the video shoot, we talked a lot about this, and a few of the women agreed to share some words on what the song and video represent to them.”

Kenney only just released her debut album, Night Night at the First Landing, last September via Company. Toro Y Moi’s Chaz Bear produced that album. Back in January she shared a brand new song, “Still Learning,” which featured Naytronix (aka Nate Brenner of Tune-Yards) and is not on the new album.

Perfect Shapes was recorded in Durham, NC in January 2018, just five months after the release of her debut album. This is Wasner’s first time producing another artist’s work.

Wasner had this to say about Kenney and the album in a previous press release: “The first time I heard the songs that would come together to form Madeline Kenney’s Perfect Shapes, I understood what it felt like to really have a piece of art speak directly to you…hearing her words felt like someone whispering in my ear the contents of my own mind. This was my first time producing music other than my own, and it was one of the only times I’ve ever experienced working exclusively with women. And it was a creative experience unlike any I’ve ever had.”

Read our 2017 Pleased to Meet You interview with Madeline Kenney.

Read our 2017 Artist Survey interview with Madeline Kenney.

Madeline Kenney Tour Dates:

08/15 - Dover, UK @ The Booking Hall *
08/16 - Bristol, UK @ Louisiana *
08/18 - Exeter, UK @ Exeter Phoenix *
08/19 - Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds *
08/21 - Edinburgh, IE @ Summerhall *
08/22 - Leeds, UK @ Headrow House *
09/15 - Raleigh, NC @ Kings %
10/15 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place
10/18 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Shop
10/20 - Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge
11/01 - New York, NY @ Baby’s All Right
11/02 - Lancaster, PA @ Tellus 360
11/03 - Washington, D.C. @ Songbyrd
11/04 - Philadelphia, PA @ Philamoca
11/06 - Toronto, ON @ Monarch
11/07 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern
11/08 - Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub
11/09 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas
11/13 - Brighton, UK @ Green Door Store
11/14 - Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade Bristol
11/15 - London, UK @ Sebright Arms
11/16 - Paris, FR @ Petit Bain
11/17 - Graz, AT @ Autumn Leaves
11/20 - Brussels, BE @ Botanique Witloof Bar

* = w/ Wye Oak
%= w/ Sugar Candy Mountain

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