Kevin Morby, former bassist for the band Woods, has announced Dead Oceans as his new label home. Though the indie folk artist promises a full-length debut on the label sometime next year, he’s celebrating the signing now with the release of a new 7-inch single, “Moonshiner” b/w “Bridge to Gaia”. The vinyl release is scheduled for September 4th, and he’s shared the A-side as an advanced listen.
“I wrote ‘Moonshiner’ a few years ago after reading what has become one of my favorite contemporary books: The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt,” Morby explains in a press release. “The book was very inspiring to me at that time and it pulled a few different songs out of me — ‘Moonshiner’ being the most directly influenced.”
The track is a shambling folk number, relying on some sturdy piano work to keep itself upright and a set of steady, strumming strings to keep it on pace. It’s just the right gait for the kind of wonder-by-night rambling “moonshiner” who narrates the song. “And I throw my hands to the sky/ As if I expected some type of answer,” Morby sings in a neo-Dylan yowl. “Oh, I stop no one to wonder why/ The world’s a floor and I’m a dancer.”
Take a listen below:
Pre-orders for the 7-inch are going on now, both for physical and digital copies. Morby also has a string of UK dates coming in September, but not before he plays FYF Fest near the end of August. Take a look at his full itinerary here:
Kevin Morby 2015 Tour Dates:
08/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ FYF Fest
09/04 – Vlieland, NL @ Into The Great Wide Open
09/05-06 – Wiltshire, UK @ End of the Road Festival
09/7 – Bristol, UK @ The Louisiana
09/8 – York, UK @ The Fulford Arms
09/9 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club, Games Room
09/10 – Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast
09/11 – London, UK @ O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
09/12 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
09/14 – Tilburg, NL @ Incubate 2015
09/15 – Dortmund, DE @ Freizeitzentrum West (FZW)
09/16 – Copenhagen, DK @ Huset
09/17 – Leipzig, DE @ naTo
09/18 – Mainz, DE @ Schon Schön
09/19 – Leffinge, BE @ Leffingeleuren 2015
09/20 – Antwerp, BE @ Het Bos
09/21 – Paris, FR @ Point Ephemere
