Kevin Morby made an album with Aaron Dessner. That's the most important piece of news here. These days, Aaron Dessner makes big-boy moves. Most of his recent production credits, at least outside of the National and his various other projects, are for actual stars: Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Gracie Abrams, Laufey. Dessner told Morby that he wanted to produce him after Morby opened the National's show at London's Crystal Palace, and now Morby's Dessner-produced album Little Wide Open is dropping this spring. That doesn't necessarily mean that Kevin Morby is a star now, but this album might become a big deal.
For Little Wide Open, Morby enlisted the success of a baffling array of great musicians. Aaron Dessner plays a bunch of instruments on the LP, and the credits also include Justin Vernon, Katie Gavin, Lucinda Williams, Mat Davidson, Meg Duffy, Oliver Hill, Rachel Baiman, Stuart Bogie, Tim and Andrew Barr, Benjamin Lanz, Colin Croom, and Tom Moth. For lead single "Javelin", a key contributor is Amelia Meath, of Sylvan Esso and Mountain Man. She built a multi-tracked choir of backing vocals that really adds to Morby's song.
Kevin Morby's last album was This Is A Photograph, which came out almost four years ago. But Morby remains plenty busy, and he shows up on this website all the time. Recently, for instance, Mavis Staples covered Morby, while Morby and his partner Waxahatchee covered the Fray. Morby says that the new album Little Wide Open finishes out an "unintended trilogy" — the press release's words — that also includes This Is A Photograph and 2020's Sundowner. All three of those records are inspired by Morby's move back to his Kansas City hometown. He's in LA now, so future records will presumably have to be inspired by something else. Here's what Morby says about the LP:
Little Wide Open is set to a backdrop of tangled highways, towns with populations less than 100,000, roadside crosses, a rock and roll romance, coupling butterflies, being an American entertainer, Econoline vans, and more. This is, without a doubt, the most personal and vulnerable album I’ve ever made. Aaron did a heroic job of holding me back from throwing too many tricks at the songs and letting my stories stand a bit naked. Despite its title this album is in fact, very wide open.
Lead single "Javelin" is specifically about remembering when they asked us, baby, just how it felt to be alone in the middle of Middle America. It's also about travelin' like a javelin. The track is an enormously charming acoustic springtime rock 'n' roll ramble. It's got a whole lot of drums and percussion, and Morby's craggy, good-natured melodies and personality really get room to shine. I really like all the chanted hey hey bits near the end of the track, too. Here's Morby's quote about the track:
This is a song I wrote about being in love with someone you keep circling around the globe, relentlessly traveling through the air and down highways, and then returning home alone to middle America. Amelia Meath shines here, with her incredible vocals. I had invited her into the studio and asked that she create a backing choir out of just her voice - but her presence is so special that her "backing vocals" can’t help but take the lead.
Around the time that Little Wide Open comes out, Kevin Morby will tour North America and Europe, playing most of his dates with Liam Kazar. For the "Javelin" video, Morby and his buddy, the comedian Caleb Hearon, ride ATVs around rural Missouri, which looks fun. Katie Crutchfield and housing advocate Tara Raghuveer make appearances. Below, check out that video, the Little Wide Open tracklist, and Morby's tour dates.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Badlands"
02 "Die Young"
03 "Javelin"
04 "All Sinners"
05 "Natural Disaster"
06 "100,000"
07 "Little Wide Open"
08 "Cowtown"
09 "Bible Belt"
10 "I Ride Passenger"
11 "Junebug"
12 "Dandelion"
13 "Field Guide For The Butterflies"
TOUR DATES:
3/14 – Austin, TX @ The Long Time
5/08 – Woodstock, NY @ Levon Helm Studios *
5/13 – Aspen, CO @ Belly Up Aspen *
5/14 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre *
5/15 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Block Party
5/17 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom *
5/18 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre *
5/19 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall *
5/21 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
5/22 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern *
5/23 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s *
5/24 – San Diego, CA @ Music Box *
5/26 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom *
5/27 – Santa Fe, NM @ The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing *
5/29 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater *
5/30 – St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall *
6/02 – Chicago, IL @ Metro *
6/04 – Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew’s Hall *
6/05 – Toronto, ON @ HISTORY *
6/06 – Montréal, QC @ Théâtre Beanfield *
6/07 – Boston, MA @ Royale *
6/09 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
6/10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel *
6/12 – Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre *
6/13 – Charlotte, NC @ The Underground *
6/14 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
6/16 – New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina’s
6/18 – Houston, TX @ The Heights Theater
6/19 – Fort Worth, TX @ Tannahill’s Tavern and Music Hall
6/20 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
7/02 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso *
7/03 – Beuningen, Netherlands @ Down the Rabbit Hole
7/04 – Lille, France @ L’Aéronef *
7/05 – Hérouville-Saint-Clair, France @ Festival Beauregard
7/06 – Paris, France @ Salle Pleyel *
7/08 – London, UK @ Troxy *
7/09 – Manchester, UK @ The Ritz *
7/10 – Brighton, UK @ CHALK *
7/11 – Bruges, Belgium @ Cactusfestival
7/12 – Cologne, Germany @ Even Flow Festival
7/14 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Rote Fabrik *
7/15 – Galzignano Terme, Italy @ Anfiteatro del Venda *
7/16 – Feldkirch, Austria @ Poolbar Festival *
7/17 – Vienna, Austria @ Simm City *
7/18 – Munich, Germany @ Technikum *
* with Liam Kazar
Little Wide Open is out 5/15 on Dead Oceans. Pre-order it here, and read the great novelist Rachel Kushner's essay about the album here. It's Morbin' time.
