Kevin Morby’s records have always blurred the line between his imagination and real life. Harlem River (2013) was a song cycle describing experiences from his past life in New York, after he moved to Los Angeles. Still Life (2014) broadened its focus to a more abstract cast of characters drawn from his new life. While experimenting more and more in the studio and fine-tuning his powers of storytelling, he still kept one foot on the ground. He was always, to a certain degree, a songwriter with a guitar, recounting stories of growth and change. “I am trying to make peace with where I am,” he sang on “Bloodsucker” (Still Life).
On his latest album, Singing Saw, Morby‘s feet have temporarily left the ground altogether in a thrilling display. Somehow, in the short span of 18 months between albums, Kevin Morby has built a world that feels suspended above the “where I am” of Still Life, a world he never touches foot down in over the course of the record, lest he be startled awake.