In her new single, Kendall Jane Meade explores the conflict between feelings of relief and freedom with the uncertainty of an unknown future. Many will associate with such feelings, expressed with heart and sensitivity by Meade in ‘The Great Unknown’. Her smooth, warm voice rises immediately above the lightly brushed percussion and the sustained, elongated notes of the fiddle and keys, which give a fullness to the song. Meade’s hushed, understated delivery feels intimate and reflective while her vocal melody is gently absorbing.
Meade says of the ‘The Great Unknown’: “I had just come back to LA from playing a show in San Francisco, and before I left for the gig, my mom reminded me that she had a bunch of my ex’s things in her garage. Having to go through boxes again brought back some tough memories that I didn’t realise I needed to process. Still, it reminded me how far I’ve come since we split, and captured a feeling I was simultaneously experiencing: not being sure where my future lies, but happy to be free. This should have been the 10th song on ‘SPACE’, as it lives with that story, so this is the bonus track I didn’t expect to come. I co-wrote this song with London-based songwriter Chris Hills when he was in LA and recorded the majority of it in NYC with Margaret White, Matt Van, Martin Olson, and David Nagler. Charles Newman produced it and added his signature magic at his studio, Cottage Sounds, in LA.” Despite coming from a place of heartbreak, the song is sweetly uplifting, and Meade’s words are thoughtful: “Bathed in sparkle lights, lifted up by grace // Head’s reminding me: keep it all in place // The things I’m going through, they’re never held by glue.”
Meade explains the context of the video: “We filmed during the actual session where the song was recorded at Pen Studios in NYC. This video isn’t staged; we had Anthony JP Sabino from Storyunit Studios there as a fly-on-the-wall to film while we recorded the song. As mentioned prior, the band is made up of my longtime friends and musical collaborators: Martin Olson (drums), Matt Van (guitar and bass double duty), David Nagler (electric piano), and Margaret White (violin). Margaret and I played in Sparklehorse together, and I’ve been playing with David and Martin as well for years. Matt is a new musical collaborator, but we are longtime family friends. Overall, the whole experience felt like a hug. Charles Newman produced this tracking session remotely from LA, so there is total continuity with my album, ‘SPACE’, which he also produced. Fun Fact: The night before and two nights after we filmed this, we played two gigs in and around NYC at Sid Gold’s and Pete’s Candy store, so Anthony wove in some of Jordan Rowe’s live footage into the video to show how we were vibing as a band all weekend in the studio and out in the clubs.” Indeed, the sense of togetherness and camaraderie is evident in the band’s performance – there’s a warm connection that lifts the song.
Over the years, Meade has contributed to albums or played and sung live with Sparklehorse, folk-rock duo Anders and Kendall, Helium, The Spinanes, Lloyd Cole, Kris Gruen, Gramercy Arms, Stars and many other artists and bands. Although she is already an accomplished performer, her first solo recording, “SPACE”, was released in February 2025. It’s a collection that displays her melodic songwriting and vulnerability. ‘The Great Unknown’ would have fitted well amongst these heartfelt songs.
