by Jordan Weinstock (@weinstockjordan)
I know it’s a pretty dramatic statement to make and the actual truth of it might be up for debate but Will Kennedy restored my faith in bedroom pop. When I first heard Teen Spaceship I had long grown disinterested in most of the Alex G/Teen Suicide-influenced projects the Bandcamp era had spawned. Something about Will’s interpretation of these stylings felt different though, and for the first time in awhile I felt like I had happened upon an artist with something truly beautiful to say.
On his self-titled debut, Kennedy has far surpassed the boundaries of modern bedroom pop. The guitars are slower, heavier, and more deliberate, each chord landing like a increasingly deadly blow to the listener’s heart. The drums full of a fuzz that only the most sincere DIY artists can make feel natural and new. Lyrics like those on the EP’s last track, “Pittsburgh,” show a newly found inner confidence. Where in the past Kennedy wondered and cried at the incredibleness of others, Will now sees that same light shining in himself, proclaiming to the world “I love my light / Don’t dim my fluorescent bulbous shape / Let this be a lesson / Let this be a lesson / I am capable of growing.” Will isn’t being arrogant or self-indulgent here, he’s right, these songs are the lesson, these heart-wrecking melodies the proof. Teen Spaceship might be moving further out of orbit, but it’s light certainly won’t be dimming anytime soon.