Today, Kevin Morby announced his new album, This Is A Photograph, will release May 13 via Dead Oceans. In conjunction with the album announcement, the American musician, singer and songwriter shared the LP's title track with an accompanying video along with details of his upcoming world tour.
This Is A Photograph marks Morby's seventh studio album and finds his visceral creativity refined and invigorated. Morby found inspiration for the record soon after his father collapsed and had to be rushed to the hospital. Trying to make sense of the situation, he began flipping through old photos in the basement of his childhood home in Kansas City; when he found an image has his father as a young man shirtless and robust, he was stupefied. “In the photo he looks young and full of confidence, puffing his chest out at the camera as if he were looking for a fight," explained Morby in a press release. “It was not lost on me that this was the same chest, just hours before, I had seen the ambulance put a stethoscope against as he lay on the kitchen floor of my sister's house."
As his father regained his strength, Morby continued to mull over the stark difference between the photo and the present. He returned to Memphis, Tenn., to meditate on his place in the world and the ghosts of the past. He would return to the Peabody Hotel after driving and daydreaming to record ideas with just his guitar and a microphone. The project was helmed by frequent collaborator Sam Cohen and recorded in a studio in New York, and features a wide array of guest artists, including touring pianist Oliver Hill, Cochemea Gastelum (saxophone), Jared Samuel (organ), Brandee Younger (harp), Cassandra Jenkins (vocals) and more. The final live sessions were recorded in Memphis at Sam Philip’s Recording Co.
Of the title track, Morby said, “Sam Cohen and I wanted to throw everything at the wall with this one. 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." The video for the song was directed by Chantal Anderson and filmed in a remote town in California and features Morby family photographs.
Additionally, Morby shared a string of tour dates from May into mid-November. See the complete list of dates below.
Watch the video for "This Is A Photograph" below:
THIS IS A PHOTOGRAPH TRACKLIST
1. Intro
2. This Is A Photograph
3. A Random Act Of Kindness
4. Bittersweet, TN
5. Disappearing
6. A Coat Of Butterflies
7. Rock Bottom
8. Forever Inside A Picture
9. Five Easy Pieces
10. Stop Before I Cry
11. It’s Over
12. Goodbye To Good Times
KEVIN MORBY TOUR DATES
Fri. May 20 - Madrid, ES @ Tomavistas
Sat. May 21 - Biarritz, FR @ L’Atabal
Sun. May 22 - Montpellier, FR @ Le Rockstore
Mon. May 23 - Bordeaux, FR @ Rock School Barbey
Tue. May 24 - Paris, FR @ Le Bataclan
Wed. May 25 - Köln, DE @ Kulturekirche
Thu. May 26 - Antwerpen, BE @ De Roma
Sat. May 28 - London, UK @ Wide Awake at Brockwell Park
Sun. May 29 - Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVredenburg
Mon. May 30 - Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich
Tue. May 31 - Berlin, DE @ Metropol
Wed. Jun. 1 - Schorndorf, DE @ Manufaktur
Fri. Jun. 3- Angers, FR @ Levitation
Sat. Jun. 4 - Clermont-Ferrand, FR @ La Cooperative de Mai
Mon. Jun. 5 - Lille, FR @ Aéronef
Sun. Jul. 3 - Bologna, IT @ Covo Summer
Mon. Jul. 4 - Terni, IT @ Anfifteatro Romano
Wed. Jul. 6 - Zagreb, HR @ Mochvara
Thu. Jul. 7 - Budapest, HU @ Akvárium Klub
Fri. Jul. 8 - Trencin, Slovakia @ Pohoda Festival
Sat. Jul. 9 - Zittau, DE @ Lonesome Lake Festival
Mon. Jul. 11 - Vienna, AT @ WUK
Tue. Jul. 12 - Munich, DE @ Ampere
Wed. Jul. 13 - Bern, CH @ Gurtenfestival
Fri. Jul. 15 - Lisbon, PT @ Super Bock Super Rock
Sun. Aug. 21 - Erlanger, DE @ Ewerk
Mon. Aug. 22 - Hannover, DE @ Café Glocksee
Wed. Aug. 24 - Copenhagen, DK @ Punpehuset
Sat. Aug. 27 - Prague, CZ @ Meetfactory
Mon. Aug. 28 - Darmstadt, DE @ Golden Leaves Festival
Wed. Aug. 31 - Brighton, UK @ Chalk
Sat. Sept. 3 - Dorset, UK @ End of the Road Festival
Sun. Sept. 4 - Manchester, UK @ Band on the Wall
Mon. Sept. 5 - Glasgow, UK @ Classic Grand
Tue. Sept. 6 - Leeds, UK @ The Brudenell Social Club
Wed. Sept. 7 - Dublin, IE @ Academy
Wed. Sept. 28 - Sonoma, CA @ Historic Redwood Barn *
Thu. Sept. 29 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
Sat. Oct. 1 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco *
Mon. Oct. 3 - Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole *
Wed. Oct. 5 - Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf *
Mon. Oct. 10 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Beer City Music Hall *
Tue. Oct. 11 - St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway Nightclub *
Wed. Oct. 12 - Bloomington, IN @ Buskirk-Chumley Theater *
Fri. Oct. 14 - Memphis, TN @ The Bluff *
Sat. Oct. 15 - Nashville, TN @ The Basement East *
Sun. Oct. 16 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West *
Tue. Oct. 18 - Jacksonville, FL @ Intuition Ale Works *
Thu. Oct. 20 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel *
Fri. Oct. 21 - Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall *
Sat. Oct. 22 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club %
Mon. Oct. 24 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair %
Tue. Oct. 25 - Ardmore, PA @ Ardmore Music Hall %
Wed. Oct. 26 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall %
Fri. Oct. 28 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall %
Sat. Oct. 29 - Ferndale, MI @ The Magic Bag %
Mon. Oct. 31 - Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre %
Tue. Nov. 1 - Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom %
Wed. Nov. 2 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe %
Thu. Nov. 3 - Kansas City, MO @ Knuckleheads Saloon %
Sat. Nov. 5 - Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre %
Sun. Nov. 6 - Fort Collins, CO @ Washington’s %
Tue. Nov. 8 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The CommonWealth Room %
Thu. Nov. 10 - Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall %
Fri. Nov. 11 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox %
Sat. Nov. 12 - Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre %
* w/ Cassandra Jenkins
% w/ Coco
