Kendra McKinley perceives a song like a painter views a blank canvas: an opportunity to expand an audience’s mind, to wash their thoughts in brilliant hues of blue and violet, scarlet reds and effusive orange. Inspired by the past but not chained to it, McKinley’s music spans the diverse spectrum of pop music. She echoes the intricate vocal arrangements crafted by Brian Wilson, fractures the narrow definitions of a genre like St. Vincent, and recognizes storytelling as the key aspect of a great tune the way the best singer-songwriters have for generations. Raised on a healthy dose of The Beatles and musical theater, McKinley realized from an early age that her future would lie in the arts. It’s no surprise, then, that she took up classical guitar while at UC Santa Cruz, and that a jazzy, bossa nova-tinged debut album would emerge alongside her studies. Entitled Chestnut Street, the record established McKinley as a striking new voice on the local music scene, a singer-songwriter with a penchant for pop melodies and intricate vocal arrangements. Soon after graduation she became a full-blown troubadour, traveling around Europe with her guitar, eventually landing in San Francisco where her charming eccentricity was immediately embraced by the famously eccentric Bay Area arts scene. It didn't take long for her to become a fixed favorite in rock venues, coffee shops and art galleries across the city. In contrast to the low-key Chestnut Street, upcoming sophomore album Treat is a full-band extravaganza, a grand production featuring uncountable, interlocking vocal harmonies, sweeping Phil Specter-sized arrangements, and melodies drenched in sunshine psychedelia. Produced in part by big brother AJ (lead guitarist for San Francisco’s own Battlehooch) and engineered by Andy Freeman, the record captures Kendra’s love of ‘60s pop without succumbing to mere tribute. McKinley goes beyond homage and into innovation, sounding like no artist past or present.