ALTERNATIVE/INDIE

This Is a Photograph
By Kevin Morby

Memphis has been the musical muse to many a legend; Johnny Cash in the ‘50s, Isaac Hayes in the ‘60s, Jerry Lee Lewis, B.B. King…the city’s air is heavy, sombre from pandemics, massacres and assassinations, untimely demises… drawing inspiration from this backdrop, singer-songwriter Kevin Morby has created this introspective album, his seventh studio record, “up in the Peabody”, Memphis’ historic hotel.
The LP starts off with the Intro; snatches of conversation between mother and child set against tape fuzz and bird song set the tone – that of nostalgia. The first line you hear is “This is a photograph, a window to the past”. Inspired by the artist’s experience of holding a photograph of his father as a young man in his childhood home of Kansas City, the title track picks up momentum gradually; A Random Act Of Kindness follows the same slow tempo build with a spectacular finish.
The LP features lyrics that are intense, visceral, inspired by themes such as life, love, death, memories, youth, dreams… “There was a time when you were mine” on Bittersweet, TN, featuring Nashville indie folk singer-songwriter Erin Rae; “All of my life Just trying to be like my father” on Rock Bottom; “I was dreaming of the past Oh, just to make the bad times last” on Five Easy Pieces; “I miss the good times, Mama” on Goodbye to Good times… Each song is a snapshot, fully realised with strings, banjo, flute, piano, horns and Morby’s tightly-knit band.

ALTERNATIVE/INDIE

Blue Skies
By Dehd

Youthful, carefree and evoking a range of emotions; produced by the band’s singer and guitarist Jason Balla, mixed by Grammy-awardwinning engineer Craig Silvey, and mastered by Heba Kadry, Blue Skies retains the spirit of Dehd’s 2020 release, Flower of Devotion.
True to their sound, characterised by reverb-heavy guitar, blunt drumming and the use of idiosyncratic vocals, which include drawls, call-andresponse, yelping and frequent use of counter-melody, Dehd, the American three-piece indie rock band, offer an eclectic mix of song writing in this LP; slow and meditative cuts such as Control; toe-tapping tracks such as Bop; punchy numbers such as Clear… every song in this road-trip rock album has a hook. The lyrics are casual and work well with the light-hearted narrative of the album; the themes, however, address grown-up issues.
Likewise, the album’s cover art— perhaps, a take on a child’s butterfly sketch — seems to advertise that despite the songs’ occasional delving into very grown-up issues, this is play manifesting as music. All in all, short and catchy tunes will keep you entertained throughout. Bassist Emily Kempf, guitarist Jason Balla and drummer Eric McGrady all share singing duties – though Kempf remains their life force – and retain their carefree punk-meets-pop style, making Blues Skies the perfect summer anthem.