#kevinmorby

I did a much better job of connecting with new music releases this year. So much so that I can identify my top albums of the year. That doesn’t happen every year. I won’t rank these since they are so different from each other. Instead, here they are in order of release date with a little bit of added commentary as to why each rose to the top for me.

Tim Kasher - Middling Age (4/15/22)

This is the Cursive front man’s submission to middle age. Made of mostly beautiful acoustic songs of self-reflection and about growing older, this is a touching album by one of my favorite niche alt-rock legends. As someone facing his mid-50s this album really speaks to me. But come on Tim Kasher, you’re only 48 years young! 

The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention (5/13/22)

I was a bit skeptical when I heard that Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood were going to release an album under a new band name called The Smile. This showed more evidence that maybe Radiohead are done as a band and the thought of that makes me sad. 

That all changed after just a couple of listens. What a fantastic album with unimaginable hooks and progressions. If you enjoyed any of Radiohead’s sounds, you need to give this a proper listen. Seeing The Smile live in Dallas with my son Jonathan in early December only adds to my appreciation of this new musical direction for two of my favorite individual artists. 

Kevin Morby - This is a Photograph (5/13/22)

This appears to be Kevin Morby exercising some demons in Memphis, Tennessee where This is a Photograph was recorded. Songs about childhood memories and our collective mortalities echo throughout. Many with a side of strings and horns. It all fits so well. Kudos to the kid from Blue Valley, KS. 

Flume - Palaces (5/13/22)

“Future Bass.” That’s how Spotify and others label Flume’s sound genre. That makes sense to me because this album sounds like the year 2040. My son Jonathan gingerly walked me into modern EDM a few years ago when he was in college. I’m glad he did because it has opened my ears to a whole different world of music I would have never discovered otherwise. 

Fred Again - Actual Life 3 (10/28/22)

I found this EDM album late in 2022. Fred Again is a 29 year old singer/producer from London. He gained worldwide popularity after a video of his show at the famed Boiler Room in London went viral in July receiving over 5 million views in just one week. My son introduced this album to me in November while listening to music at our place. I try to fight the notion that you shouldn’t be into certain types of music at an older age by being open to new artists and genres. Jonathan has helped me to find new artists like Fred Again and that is a gift.

I met KEVIN MORBY at Newport Folk Festival 2021. Newport is one of those festivals where everybody on the bill is incredible at their craft, but the audience, backstage, and sidestages are often filled with just as much talent. You never know who you’re gonna see or meet. Kevin and I became quick friends at the fest, but after Newport, the universe kept crossing our paths. Over that next year, we traded demos, reconnected randomly at SXSW in Austin, and he introduced me to his partner Katie. I told him that while I loved the demos he’d recently sent me, the energy of them just made more sense for what I was developing sonically on my solo album than for my next album with The Suffers. His demo for “Didn’t I” was so minimal, just vocals and guitar. The lyrics hooked me instantly, and they initially made me think about friendship and what it means to me.

Over the next year, I practiced and developed the song in Houston with my friend and frequent collaborator, Sara Van Buskirk. Sara is a great writer, and helped me write a bridge I felt helped bring the song to the finish line. In December 2023, Kevin and I knocked out the recording in a short afternoon session at the Bomb Shelter music studio in Nashville, Tennessee. It was the last song we recorded that day, and the entire session felt light and playful. Kevin’s energy and humor reminds me of my bandmates in @TheSuffers. While singing this song, I thought about them, our last 15 years together as a band, and how lucky it is to have at least one true friend you can depend on in this life. “Didn’t I” doesn’t sound like anything else on my album. It’s wholesome, and singing it feels like a hug.

I thank Kevin Morby for making the trip out from Kansas to make this possible. Thank you to my production mentor @jimenoacid for putting his foot into this mix! Thank you to Margo Price for helping produce the album of my dreams, and thank you to the dream team that made it all happen below. “Didn’t I” is now out on all streaming platforms. “Land Of The Neon Sun”, can also be pre-ordered on vinyl and CD at the link in my bio or at www.KamFranklin.com

Written by @KevinMorby, @bamitskam, and @SaraVanBuskirk

Kam Franklin: vocals, Kevin Morby: vocals and guitar

Produced by @missmargoprice and @bamitskam

Recorded by Jack Tellman @jackthestryper

Mixed by Jim Eno @jimenoacid

Mastered by Chris Longwood @mastering_engineer/

Single artwork by Christa Havican Flat Snake Goods