There’s a handful of powerful female voices popping up across the airwaves over the past couple years. From the dark, gothic rumblings of Chelsea Wolfe, to the folk songstress Laura Marling, or perhaps the guitar virtuoso Marnie Stern or emerging pop artists Sky Ferriera or Lana Del Rey? All of them have something to say and are making no bones about getting their message across. In some ways closer to the Marnie Stern vibe comes Carre Callaway – a young woman whose actually been in and out of the scene since 2009, when discovered in New Orleans by none other than NIN’s Trent Reznor.
She’s the solo artist behind the moniker Queen Kwong and she recently collaborated with Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit, Black Light Burns) on her new single, “The Strangest Fruit.” This was my first exposure to her as an artist. I then tackled the smattering of EP’s and singles over on Spotify. It’s interesting to see her growth as an artist in just three short years. She’s equal parts Iggy Pop & The Stooges (“Eddie the Kid” single (2011)), post-punk a la Kim Deal (‘Bitter Lips” single (2011)), alterna-grunge a la Hole, or even Black Light Burns-like frenetic guitar work (2012’s “Long Gone” single).
“The Strange Fruit,” is another animal entirely. Sparse keyboard notes, a shuffling percussion, and cinematic guitars take this track into shoegazer territory yet it holds a pop sensibility. It’s rather brilliant stuff. But Levar Burton really said it best. Check out the video for the track below (sorry, no Wes cameo…)