Kevin Morby shares video for “Dancer” in advance of tour

Still Life out now on Woodsist Records

VIDEO: Kevin Morby – “Dancer” (Dir. by Elizabeth Skadden) –

Kevin Morby Dancer

Still from “Dancer” video

NYC-based film maker Elizabeth Skadden and LA-based performer and art imprint Hesse Press owner Clare Kelly, have partnered to create a new music video for Kevin Morby’s “Dancer,” off of his new album,Still Life. Skadden and Kelly have a history of collaboration on DIY guerilla-style videos that feature improvised choreography in traditionally male spaces or to an audience of taxidermied animals. For “Dancer,”, they took inspiration from the lyrical content of the Manhattan-referencing song by filming in the conceptual heart of the city, Times Square, as well as on an upscale midtown rooftop.

Photo by Adarsha Benjamin

Still Life is the second solo album from Kevin Morby. The namesake of the record is an art piece by Maynard Monrow entitled “Still Life with the Rejects from the Land of Misfit Toys.”

The album’s title has several meanings. On the surface, it refers to Morby’s change in lifestyle from moving to Los Angeles from New York in August of 2013.

But he also admits that the title is ironic. The songs from Still Life were written during yet another period of tour and travel for Morby, as he spent most all of 2013 on the road with Woods (whom Morby parted ways with amicably last year), The Babies, who are currently on hiatus and as a solo artist.

The album reflects both this time in transit and the quiet confines of his new home in Montecito Heights. Scenes of performers, audience expectations and the paradoxical confines of a roving individual perpetually caught in a crowd percolate the songs, notably in “The Jester, The Tramp, The Acrobat,” and “Parade.” (Morby calls the latter an elegy of sorts for one of his major influences, Lou Reed). Violent fates, wrestling with destiny and the nature of death creep into songs like “The Ballad of Arlo Jones,” “Bloodsucker” and “Amen”. Even Morby’s more obvious love songs like “All of My Life,” “Drowning” and “Our Moon” are highly bittersweet; the characters in these songs seem to never quite find each other, but perhaps they find themselves.

As with Harlem River, Still Life is once again produced by Rob Barbato (Cass McCombs, Darker My Love) who adds his signature guitar and bass playing to the album. The album was engineered and mixed by Drew Fischer, who also worked on Harlem River and the Babies second full length album Our House on the Hill and recorded between March and June of 2014 at Barbato and Fischers new Burbank Recording Studio, Comp’ny.

Multi-instrumentalist Will Canzoneri (Cate Le Bon, Cass McCombs, Jessica Pratt), who also performed live with Morby on previous tours and who was a contributor on Harlem River, contributes piano and organ to the album. The album also features a prominent horn section on “Parade” and “Amen”.

While Morby called his solo debut Harlem River a love letter to New York City, the city hasn’t faded as a muse (readily evident in the eerie twisting journey of “Dancer”). This makes sense. Morby says he always interpreted the “land of misfit toys” in the album’s namesake piece to be that of New York.

Kevin Morby previously announced January shows in Chicago (w/ Strand of Oaks) and NY (w/ Amen Dunes) and now he’s announcing additional 2015 tour dates on both the east and west coasts. February shows will be opened by Jessica Pratt and March shows will be opened by Ryley Walker. Morby is also once again joined by Justin Sullivan (The Babies) on drums and percussion. Sullivan is a fixture in Morby’s live band.

“Morby’s a judicious lyricist, able to flesh out a scene with just a few carefully-chosen details…catch him in just the right mood, and he’s got stories to share, hard-earned wisdom to impart.” – Pitchfork

“Have a listen to Still Life, which shows the pure talent you already knew Morby possessed, but channeled in a raw and real form; the sincerity of this album will have you coming back to it again and again.” – NME

kevin morby tour dates

Tour Dates:

2/20 – Seattle, WA – Sunset Tavern *
2/21 – Vancouver, BC – Electric Owl *
2/22 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir *
2/23 – Eugene, OR – The Barnlight *
2/25 – San Francisco, CA – The Chapel (Noise Pop Festival) *
2/26 – Santa Cruz, CA – Catalyst Atrium *
2/27 – Long Beach, CA – House Show *
2/28 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo *
3/7 – Buffalo, NY – Mohawk Place ^
3/8 – Columbus, OH – Double Happiness ^
3/9 – Chicago, IL – Schubas ^
3/10 – Bloomington, IN – The Bishop ^
3/11 – Nashville, TN – The Stone Fox ^
3/12 – Asheville, NC – The Mothlight ^
3/13 – Washington, DC – DC9 ^
3/14 – Philadelphia, PA – Boot and Saddle ^
3/15 – New York, NY – Babys All Right ^
5/17 – Brussels, BE – Les Nuits Botanique #
5/18 – Groningen, NL – Vera
5/19 – Hamburg, DE – Hafenklang
5/20 – Berlin, DE – Antje Øklesund
5/21 – Trier, DE – Exhaus
5/24 – Gent, BE – Charlatan
5/25 – Lille, FR – La Péniche
5/26 – Le Havre, FR – Le Tétris
5/27 – Lorient, FR – Le Manège
5/29 – Nimes, FR – This Is Not A Love Song
5/30 – Barcelona, ES – Primavera Sound Festival
5/31 – Marseille, FR – Le Grim
6/2 – Ravenna, IT – Beaches Brew
6/3 – Grenoble, FR – La Ciel
6/4 – Limoges, FR – Le Phare
6/8 – Bordeaux, FR – Rock School Barbey
6/9 – Toulouse, FR – La Connexion
6/10 – Lyon, FR – Marché Gare
6/11 – Sion, CH – Le Port Franc

* = w/ Jessica Pratt
^ = w/ Ryley Walker
# = w/ Steve Gunn