Kendall Street Company

The Year The Earth Stood Still: Inertia

Self-Released, 2021

9/10

Listen The Year The Earth Stood Still: Inertia

The Charlottesville, Virginia outfit Kendall Street Company return with the second half of their double album The Year The Earth Stood Still, and while Ninurta, the first portion, was more of an instrumental-pop and ambient focused affair, Inertia brings us an exploratory space opera.

“Home & Garden” starts the listen with a dense beat as warmth and mystery enter alongside the deep, inviting vocals, and “Livin’ On The Bone” follows with soft melodies that point towards much earlier decades amid soulful song craft.

in the middle, “Say Hey!” gets vocally more firm as bluesy guitars enter the breezy, tuneful climate, while “Kenny J” brings a dreamy, nearly prog-like delivery that’s without vocals and glides along with an unpredictable nature. “Sunbeams”, one of the album’s best, then recruits well timed brass and graceful keys for a playful jazz album highlight.

“Underneath The Summer Sun”, another strong track, then radiates cautiously with a charming, hypnotic instrumental, and “Return Of The Pink Flying Saucer” exits the listen with a driving, cinematic quality of intricate drumming and shimmering guitar work as the landscape unfolds with precision and control.

It’s really hard to tell if Kendall Street Company are a jam band, a prog-rock band or just some form of indie-rock, but that’s a big part of their allure, as they document a very rare and flourishing chemistry across these 9 tracks that just begs to be heard live.

Travels well with: Kendall Street Company- The Year The Earth Stood Still: Ninurta; Sirr- Space