Kevin Morby has announced a new album called This Is a Photograph, which is due for release on May 13th via Dead Oceans. As a preview, he’s shared the album’s title track.
An insistent, rodeo-ready riff fuels “This Is a Photograph,” a nostalgic song that sums up the feeling you get when you look through old family photos. “This is a photograph/ A window to the past,” Morby says, his spoke-sung delivery slowly growing in urgency. The autobiographical track was inspired by a scary night back in 2020, when Morby’s father had a health scare that inspired the artist to revisit a family photo album. In the album, he discovered an old photo of his father as a healthy young man, posing on the front lawn with his shirt off.
“In the photo he looks young and full of confidence, puffing his chest out at the camera as if he were looking for a fight,” Morby said. “It was not lost on me that this was the same chest, just hours before, I had seen the ambulance put a stethoscope against as he lay on the kitchen floor of my sisters house.” As the song picks up, Morby grows emphatic, revisiting old memories and repeating, “This is what I’ll miss about being alive.”
“It’s about the battle every family faces, that of chasing the clock, to live our lives and hold onto one another for as long as possible,” Morby said of the single. “That, and, the dreams that come with being a young family in America and where those dreams eventually end up.”
This respect for the past permeates This Is a Photograph, an album Morby recorded while tapping into his Southern musical influences. The artist headed down to Memphis for inspiration, working with frequent collaborator Sam Cohen and a revolving door of musicians at Sam Philip’s Recording Co., an offshoot of the legendary Sun Records studio. See the album’s artwork and tracklist below, and pre-order the LP here.
Shortly after This Is a Photograph’s release, Morby will head out on an extensive world tour that includes shows with Cassandra Jenkins and Coco. Check out the full itinerary below, and grab tickets via Ticketmaster.
This Is a Photograph follows Morby’s 2020 record Sundowner. Last year, the artist teamed up with Hamilton Leithauser for the song “Virginia Beach,” which the two discussed with Kyle Meredith.
This Is a Photograph Artwork:
This Is a Photograph Tracklist:
01. Intro
02. This Is a Photograph
03. A Random Act of Kindness
04. Bittersweet, TN
05. Disappearing
06. A Coat of Butterflies
07. Rock Bottom
08. Forever Inside a Picture
09. Five Easy Pieces
10. Stop Before I Cry
11. It’s Over
12. Goodbye to Good Times
Kevin Morby 2022 Tour Dates:
05/20 — Madrid, ES @ Tomavistas
05/21 — Biarritz, FR @ L’Atabal
05/22 — Montpellier, FR @ Le Rockstore
05/23 — Bordeaux, FR @ Rock School Barbey
05/24 — Paris, FR @ Le Bataclan
05/25 — Köln, DE @ Kulturekirche
05/26 — Antwerpen, BE @ De Roma
05/28 — London, UK @ Wide Awake at Brockwell Park
05/29 — Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVredenburg
05/30 — Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich
05/31 — Berlin, DE @ Metropol
06/01 — Schorndorf, DE @ Manufaktur
06/03 — Angers, FR @ Levitation
06/04 — Clermont-Ferrand, FR @ La Cooperative de Mai
06/05 — Lille, FR @ Aéronef
07/03 — Bologna, IT @ Covo Summer
07/04 — Terni, IT @ Anfifteatro Romano
07/06 — Zagreb, HR @ Mochvara
07/07 — Budapest, HU @ Akvárium Klub
07/08 — Trencin, Slovakia @ Pohoda Festival
07/09 — Zittau, DE @ Lonesome Lake Festival
07/11 — Vienna, AT @ WUK
07/12 — Munich, DE @ Ampere
07/13 — Bern, CH @ Gurtenfestival
07/15 — Lisbon, PT @ Super Bock Super Rock
08/21 — Erlanger, DE @ Ewerk
08/22 — Hannover, DE @ Café Glocksee
08/24 — Copenhagen, DK @ Punpehuset
08/27 — Prague, CZ @ Meetfactory
08/28 — Darmstadt, DE @ Golden Leaves Festival
08/31 — Brighton, UK @ Chalk
09/03 — Dorset, UK @ End of the Road Festival
09/04 — Manchester, UK @ Band on the Wall
09/05 — Glasgow, UK @ Classic Grand
09/06 – Leeds, UK @ The Brudenell Social Club
09/07 — Dublin, IE @ Academy
09/28 — Sonoma, CA @ Historic Redwood Barn *
09/29 — San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
10/01 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco *
10/03 — Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole *
10/05 — Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf *
10/10 — Oklahoma City, OK @ Beer City Music Hall *
10/11 — St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway Nightclub *
10/12 — Bloomington, IN @ Buskirk-Chumley Theater *
10/14 — Memphis, TN @ The Bluff *
10/15 — Nashville, TN @ The Basement East *
10/16 — Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West *
10/18 — Jacksonville, FL @ Intuition Ale Works *
10/20 — Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel *
10/21 — Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall *
10/22 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club %
10/24 — Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair %
10/25 — Ardmore, PA @ Ardmore Music Hall %
10/26 — New York, NY @ Webster Hall %
10/28 — Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall %
10/29 — Ferndale, MI @ The Magic Bag %
10/31 — Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre %
11/01 — Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom %
11/02 — Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe %
11/03 — Kansas City, MO @ Knuckleheads Saloon %
11/05 — Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre %
11/06 — Fort Collins, CO @ Washington’s %
11/08 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The CommonWealth Room %
11/10 — Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall %
11/11 — Seattle, WA @ Showbox %
11/12 — Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre %
* = w/ Cassandra Jenkins
% = w/ Coco
