Kevin Morby – ‘More Photographs (A Continuum)’ album review
Last year, Kevin Morby released his stellar seventh album, This Is A Photograph, proving his talents as one of his generation’s most talented yet understated songwriters. The record is heavily centred around nostalgia, memories, and the passing of time, resulting in a collection of songs best described as powerfully bittersweet.
However, Morby knew he wasn’t ready to leave the project behind, stating: “I feel I have to cast [the songs] out of me before moving onto the next project, and here I knew that what I had begun with This Is A Photograph was not finished. Releasing this collection is me tying a bow on that time and place in my creative life.”
More Photographs (A Continuum) consists of nine tracks, including several reworked versions of songs from This Is A Photograph and even a few that could be classified as sequels. “Everything you once thought was familiar suddenly appears differently, shifting shapes, colour and sonic landscapes,” Morby explained.
The album opens with ‘This Is A Photograph II’, contrasting the previous record’s ‘This Is A Photograph’ with a darker take on the theme of family memories. On the 2022 track, Morby paints a tender picture of his family, exploring the theme of time moving too fast, comparing it to a “heavyweight champ”. However, on the newer cut, Morby opens with a much less positive line, as he sings: “This is a photograph, a dark horse from your past galloping back”. Although this version doesn’t pack quite the same punch, it’s a great track in its own right, with emotive strings whirling around the soundscape, even mimicking the tension in the lines, “Can we make it?”
The following track, ‘Triumph’, is a mid-tempo slice of Americana, with its wistful guitars mirroring Morby’s lyrical musings on “driving fast”, allowing his voice to pick up a more gravelly tone. It’s clearly no accident that listening to the song feels like driving through a vast desert or an American highway, contemplating your life and memories.
Several tracks stand as alternate versions, such as ‘Bittersweet, Tennessee’, which uses the same lyrics as ‘Bittersweet, TN’ but with slightly different instrumentation. The reimagined version possesses a much more raw, emotional quality, with Morby and Erin Rae’s voices melding together beautifully. Similarly, ‘Mickey Mantle’s Autograph’, a rework of ‘Goodbye to Good Times’, feels much more confronting in its nostalgia, with Morby’s melancholic acoustic guitar leading the song.
A subtle highlight of the record is ‘Going to Prom’, which features an almost-sultry spread of instrumentation carried by hazy guitars. Lyrically, Morby references ‘This Is A Photograph’, taking on the perspective of the subjects in various snapshots, such as “me with my firstborn”. The proceeding track, ‘Lion Tamer’, is another standout, opening with gloriously western-tinged lonesome riffs, welcoming Morby’s smooth voice.
Morby demonstrates his excellent storytelling skills in ‘Five Easy Pieces Revisited’, singing from the perspective of Bobby from Bob Rafelson’s 1970 film. Acting as a response to Is This A Photograph‘s ‘Five Easy Pieces’, sung as Rayette, the track is a beautifully cinematic cut buoyed by harmonious strings.
Ending with ‘Kingdom of Broken Hearts’, the blues-infused piece rounds the album off nicely, utilising soulful backing singers to give the song a warm and optimistic feel. With beautifully full production and complexly layered melodies, the song is a powerful reminder that More Photographs (A Continuum) isn’t merely a collection of This Is A Photograph offcuts or afterthoughts – it’s an incredibly solid and cohesive continuation, ripe with soul, emotion and gorgeously bluesy instrumentation.
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