The ever-prolific Kevin Morby has a new album on the way, his follow-up to 2020’s Sundowner. This Is a Photograph is due out May 13 on Dead Oceans, with its title track and accompanying music video out now, along with new Morby world tour dates.
This Is a Photograph, Morby’s seventh solo album, is described in a press release as not only a collection of “his finest songs, his best vocal performances, his most incisive lyrics and his most lush arrangements,” but also as “unquestionably his magnum opus to date.” Morby wrote the album in Memphis, and reunited with Singing Saw and Oh My God producer Sam Cohen to record it, both at Cohen’s upstate New York studio and Sam Philip’s Recording Co. in Memphis—the latter location is where “This Is a Photograph” was recorded live, featuring backing harmonies from Stax Academy of Music alumni.
The album as a whole features a sprawling cast of collaborators, including: Nick Kinsey (drums); Morby’s former touring pianist Oliver Hill; his mother Meg and sister Charlotte (strings); his touring compatriots Cochemea Gastelum (saxophone), Jared Samuel (organ) and Alecia Chakour (vocals, tambourine); Eric Johnson (banjo); and new collaborators Josh Jaeger (drums, percussion), Brandee Younger (harp), Makaya McCraven (drums), Cassandra Jenkins (vocals), and Tim Heidecker and Alia Shawkat (who contribute “unhinged laughs” on “Rock Bottom”).
“This Is a Photograph” finds Morby reminiscing over rustic, propulsive Southern rock: “This is a photograph, a window to the past / Of your father on the front lawn, with no shirt on,” he describes, referencing the Morby family photo that inspired the entire album. Various tapped and hand-drummed percussion, and, eventually, Cohen’s bass, keep the track moving swiftly, even as Morby sinks wistfully into the past. But what he’s ultimately doing is appreciating the present, in a way that will last him into the future: His refrain goes, “This is what I’ll miss about being alive.”
“Sam Cohen and I wanted to throw everything at the wall with this one,” says Morby of the track in a statement. “It’s about the battle every family faces, that of chasing the clock, to live our lives and hold onto one another for as long as possible. That, and, the dreams that come with being a young family in America and where those dreams eventually end up.”
Morby’s “This Is a Photograph” video was directed by Chantal Anderson and shot in an unidentified, remote town in California. Morby family photos (as well as archival photos from the Peter J. Cohen Collection) are edited into the clip, amplifying its nostalgic feel.
Watch the video below, and see the details of Morby’s forthcoming album and upcoming tour dates further down.
This Is a Photograph Tracklist:
01. Intro
02. This Is A Photograph
03. A Random Act Of Kindness
04. Bittersweet, TN
05. Disappearing
06. A Coat Of Butterflies
07. Rock Bottom
08. Forever Inside A Picture
09. Five Easy Pieces
10. Stop Before I Cry
11. It’s Over
12. Goodbye To Good Times
This Is a Photograph Art:
Kevin Morby Tour Dates:
May
20 – Madrid, ES @ Tomavistas
21 – Biarritz, FR @ L’Atabal
22 – Montpellier, FR @ Le Rockstore
23 – Bordeaux, FR @ Rock School Barbey
24 – Paris, FR @ Le Bataclan
25 – Köln, DE @ Kulturekirche
26 – Antwerpen, BE @ De Roma
28 – London, UK @ Wide Awake at Brockwell Park
29 – Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVredenburg
30 – Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich
31 – Berlin, DE @ Metropol
June
01 – Schorndorf, DE @ Manufaktur
03- Angers, FR @ Levitation
04 – Clermont-Ferrand, FR @ La Cooperative de Mai
05 – Lille, FR @ Aéronef
July
03 – Bologna, IT @ Covo Summer
04 – Terni, IT @ Anfifteatro Romano
06 – Zagreb, HR @ Mochvara
07 – Budapest, HU @ Akvárium Klub
08 – Trencin, Slovakia @ Pohoda Festival
09 – Zittau, DE @ Lonesome Lake Festival
11 – Vienna, AT @ WUK
12 – Munich, DE @ Ampere
13 – Bern, CH @ Gurtenfestival
15 – Lisbon, PT @ Super Bock Super Rock
August
21 – Erlanger, DE @ Ewerk
22 – Hannover, DE @ Café Glocksee
24 – Copenhagen, DK @ Punpehuset
27 – Prague, CZ @ Meetfactory
28 – Darmstadt, DE @ Golden Leaves Festival
31 – Brighton, UK @ Chalk
September
03 – Dorset, UK @ End of the Road Festival
04 – Manchester, UK @ Band on the Wall
05 – Glasgow, UK @ Classic Grand
06 – Leeds, UK @ The Brudenell Social Club
07 – Dublin, IE @ Academy
28 – Sonoma, CA @ Historic Redwood Barn *
29 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
October
01 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco *
03 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole *
05 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf *
10 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Beer City Music Hall *
11 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway Nightclub *
12 – Bloomington, IN @ Buskirk-Chumley Theater *
14 – Memphis, TN @ The Bluff *
15 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East *
16 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West *
18 – Jacksonville, FL @ Intuition Ale Works *
20 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel *
21 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall *
22 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club %
24 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair %
25 – Ardmore, PA @ Ardmore Music Hall %
26 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall %
28 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall %
29 – Ferndale, MI @ The Magic Bag %
31 – Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre %
November
01 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom %
02 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe %
03 – Kansas City, MO @ Knuckleheads Saloon %
05 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre %
06 – Fort Collins, CO @ Washington’s %
08 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The CommonWealth Room %
10 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall %
11 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox %
12 – Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre %
(* w/ Cassandra Jenkins)
(% w/ Coco)
