With a voice that’ll remind many older ears of a less gruff Marc Cohen, with shades of James Taylor, Matthew Morgan’s new EP, “Empathy For Inanimate Objects” is an assortment of tracks that show off the artist’s versatility and penchant for telling solid stories, making the collection truly memorable.
Make no mistake, there’s not a lackluster track on the EP, but there’s only one or two where you’ll want to leave them on repeat. More like tracks that’ll catch your ears in a hipster bar or Starbucks, they’re catchy, but most (three out the five on the EP) are not enough. But that’s at his worst. At his best, Morgan’s a singer that has a wonderful group of musicians behind him, weaving a new almost symphony of Americana goodness.
What Morgan also has is the ability to change feels or tones. For an EP, it’s wonderfully multi-layered with different vocal stylings, harmonizations and guitar work.
On “Songs Like These,” Morgan tells an intimate story that is brought out even more thanks to a beautiful backing guitar and his soft-spoken and calm vocals. It’s got that “All by yourself reminiscing” feel to it. But without a real vocal hook (it’s there just subtle), it’s a song that doesn’t steal your ears. While it’s an emotional journey and Morgan and his bandmates perform well here, it’s the type of song you’ve heard the lyrics to before.
Thanks to excellent guitar work and an infectious beat, as well as harmonizing with a female vocalist, “Hold On” ends up being one of the deepest tracks on the EP. Morgan adds a little more mustard to his voice here and the end result is cooler than the previously mentioned ballad. Had there been a few more songs like this, perhaps the EP would be a little more distinguishable as pure Americana, but would also cost Morgan his asset of versatility.
This mood continues with “SticksNStones,” which also has a nice blend of vocal harmonizations and musical flavor. To his credit, the “Whoa” hook in this song, followed by his whistling is über enthralling. To the point where it would have been a perfect fit on the “Django: Unchained” soundtrack. This is the type of work that makes Morgan the type of performer someone who doesn’t appreciate folk can get into because it’s hard-working. The multiple elements at play and the solid lyrics here prove he’s a talent.
The violin ends up stealing your ears in “Lost at Sea,” a song that initially feels like a Siren is trying to grab your hand ad steal you into the heart of the ocean. Add in a nice combination of a more mellow Morgan vocally and it’s probably the best produced piece on the EP.
Between the solid musicianship and Morgan’s vocal prowess, “‘Empathy For Inanimate Objects” is honest and earnest folk rock. Most of the tracks are great background tunes and the EP a definite blend of moods, but the one or two songs that stand out do so in a way where you’ll almost be forced to download the rest of his work.
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