Kristeen Young

Kristeen Young might recall the sound of a feral child raised in the spirit of Tori Amos. Both share an expansive vocal compass and a habit of testing the piano’s upper limits, yet Young channels a ferociously raw emotional force and a sharply subversive intelligence that set her apart. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, to parents of Apache and German ancestry, she was adopted early by a rigidly fundamentalist Christian couple. Despite their efforts to shield her from outside influences, she cultivated a fierce attachment to music, later enrolling at Webster University in St. Louis to study piano. After graduation she performed with the local groups November 9th and Water Works; during her time in the latter she conceived the notion of a stripped-down duo limited to piano and drums. Teaming with drummer Jeff White, she issued her debut solo effort, the 1997 album Meet Miss Young and Her All Boy Band, built around her forceful keyboard work and his drumming.

The follow-up, Enemy, appeared in 1999. Two years later Young and White relocated from St. Louis to New York City, where her commanding stage presence and biting satirical outlook quickly attracted an audience. She next enlisted veteran producer Tony Visconti, who oversaw 2003’s Breasticles—featuring a guest vocal from David Bowie—and the 2004 concept album X, structured around the Ten Commandments and including vocals from Placebo’s Brian Molko. Her 2006 release The Orphans caught the ear of another Visconti client, Morrissey, who invited her to open his world tour supporting Ringleader of the Tormentors, signed her to his Attack label, and issued the singles “Kill the Father” and “London Cry” later that year. Visconti returned to the console for 2009’s Music for Strippers, Hookers, and the Odd On-Looker, while the 2011 EP V the Volcanic presented songs written from the viewpoints of assorted film characters. Dave Grohl, a longtime admirer, played drums throughout and guitar on portions of the explosive 2014 album The Knife Shift, which also featured guitar contributions from Visconti, Lou Rossi, and longtime Morrissey guitarist Boz Boorer. The record prompted Young’s U.S. television debut with a performance of the single “Pearl of a Girl” on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, backed by Grohl, his former Nirvana and Foo Fighters bandmate Pat Smear, and bassist Megan X Thomas.