Kendra Smith: A Musical Disappearing Act Reemerges
The reclusive singer, who hasn’t released new music in 22 years, makes a surprise appearance on the new Dream Syndicate album
“Kendra’s Dream,” the final track on the Dream Syndicate’s new reunion record, How Did I Find Myself Here?, is perhaps the most uncharacteristic-sounding song from the band. Aside from its moody ambient and atmospheric textures, a departure from the Syndicate’s dynamic guitar-driven rock, “Kendra’s Dream,” stands out because Steve Wynn, the group’s guitarist and main vocalist, doesn’t sing on it. Rather, it is performed by a female whose deep and charismatic voice recalls Nico, Patti Smith, and Marianne Faithfull. The lyrics are very stream-of-consciousness in its depiction of someone who is at peace with her natural surroundings and within herself (“I keep having the same dream/It’s a beautiful dream”), doesn’t follow convention (“I defy expectation, habit, law and repetition”), and perhaps thrives on quiet and solitude (“Lock of night is turned by this key/My hermit mind is not the same”).
