KEVIN MORBY has released a single and video for ‘ROCK BOTTOM’ and announced a new substack. The new album THIS IS A PHOTOGRAPH is out May 13th on Dead Oceans.
“The arrangement keeps building on: with keyboards, drums, guitars, saxes and voices, a gathering of humanity to hold off the solitude of death.” – The New York Times, on This Is A Photograph
“This is a songwriter in command of his craft, both in the studio and on stage.” – Uproxx
“’This Is a Photograph’ finds Morby reminiscing over rustic, propulsive Southern rock” – Paste
Today, Kevin Morby releases a new single/video, ‘Rock Bottom,’ from his forthcoming album, This Is A Photograph, out May 13th on Dead Oceans. Morby wrote much of this album in Memphis. Following his father’s health scare, he moved into the Peabody Hotel and spent his days paying tribute and genuflecting to the dreamers he admired; the banks of the Mississippi River, where Jeff Buckley met his end; the neighborhood where Jay Reatard spent his last day; the Stax marquee and Graceland. The apparitions that filled Morby’s days haunt the record; apparent in the twisted rock and roll rave-up of ‘Rock Bottom’ (“All of my life, oh to be anything but in the rock bottom”). The track features Sam Cohen on bass (who also produced the record), backing vocals by Cassandra Jenkins, and laugh tracks from Tim Heidecker and Alia Shawkat. The accompanying video, directed by frequent Kansas City-based collaborator Johnny Eastlund, is charming with a comedic edge. It features Morby, Heidceker, and artist Ariel Kellogg. Morby elaborates on the track and video below.
“I’d often pass a mural of the late James Lee Lindsey Jr. on Main Street (in Memphis) which eventually lead me down a rabbit hole to revisiting his body of work including watching the 2009 documentary filmed during his last days, Better Than Something. I was taken by how similar his story was to that of many other American icons that were ahead of their time and too-quickly rose from the bottom to the top, inevitably burning out. I read that his stage name, Jay Reatard, was worn as a badge of honor after years of being picked on in grade school – which may or may not be why on the cover of his seminal album Blood Visions he’s covered in blood as a nod to Sissy Spacek’s character in Carrie. Because of this I chose to begin the song by repeating ‘they’re all gonna laugh at you!’ When in the studio I pointed at the last Reatard’s album, Grown Up, Fucked Up as a reference for what I was trying to achieve sonically. For the video, director Johnny Eastlund and I decided we wanted to make an Ice Cream themed Nunchucking Western so I tagged in one of my instagram nunchuck idols Ariel Kellog to help me battle an evil talent show judge, played by Tim Heidecker, who is taunting his contestants, most notably a little girl in a bumble bee costume. The video also features comedian Caleb Heron, my bandmate Cyrus Gengras, Azniv Korkejian (aka Bedouine), Jess Wolfe (who is 1/2 of Lucius), and more.”
The recording of This Is A Photograph began in Cohen’s upstate New York studio that was still being built, along with drummer Nick Kinsey, working on the songs slowly. Over time, the cast began to fill out. Former touring pianist Oliver Hill and his mother Meg and sister Charlotte provided strings. Touring compatriots Cochemea Gastelum (saxophone), Jared Samuel (organ) and Alecia Chakour (vocals, tambourine) joined the sessions as well as Eric Johnson (banjo). And new collaborators like drummer Josh Jaeger (drums, percussion), Brandee Younger (harp), Makaya McCraven (drums), plus Jenkins, Heidecker, and Shawkat, added to the developing picture. And fittingly, in the end, the last sessions were held live in Memphis at Sam Philip’s Recording Co., helmed by his son Jerry Philips, which carries on with the legacy of the original Sun Records studio.
This Is A Photograph finds Morby making an Americana paean, a visceral life and death, blood on the canvas outpouring. The creatively invigorated songwriter has managed to align his finest songs, his best vocal performances, his most incisive lyrics, and his most lush arrangements and put them all on This Is A Photograph. This is unquestionably his magnum opus to date. For more insight on the making of the album, Morby has announced the launch of a new Substack. Through weekly updates, Morby will share drawings, photos, poems, essays, demos, and more, or as Kevin puts it, “all the puzzle pieces that go into eventually, somehow, magically creating an album of music that I don’t usually share with the public. As one who loves to share their experiences and creations with others while here on planet earth, I’m looking forward to having this newsletter to help do just that.”
This May, Morby will kick off his world tour in support of This Is A Photograph. After a run in Europe, he’ll return stateside and play across North American.
WATCH THE “THIS IS A PHOTOGRAPH” VIDEO
PRE-ORDER THIS IS A PHOTOGRAPH
SUBSCRIBE TO KEVIN MORBY’S SUBSTACK
This Is A Photograph Cover Artwork
Kevin Morby Online:
https://twitter.com/kevinmorby
https://www.instagram.com/kevinmorby/
https://www.facebook.com/kevinrobertmorby
