Springtime Carnivore

img-springtime-carnivore_093148741920Springtime Carnivore’s Greta Morgan is the pop artist we need right now. Her self-described “Technicolor daydream music” is luminous, catchy and strange — as danceable as it is pensive and atmospheric. Her self-titled debut, co-produced by Richard Swift, dropped this week via Autumn Tone.

Swift’s woozy, saturated trademark aesthetic is all over this record. Instrumental opener “Western Pink” feels like a cinematic sweep over a cosmopolitan sunset. “Collectors” is a sugary sonic rainbow, subverted by Morgan’s spookily evocative lyrics — “The dark branches of my family tree/my midnight insecurities.” Her voice, a gorgeous, full-bodied American West kind of voice, is mesmerizing and full of range, reaching powerful heights on the chorus of “Name on a Matchbook,” but turning intimate and direct on a lines like “Maybe in another life/maybe at another time/Have I met you somewhere before/I wonder as I shut the door.”

For fans of Swift’s echo-laden and reverb-drenched visions, there’s plenty to enjoy here, from the kaleidoscopic tunnel dream of “Sun Went Black “ to the glitchy mirage seduction of “Two Scars.” There’s a rich, lo-fi glory to the instrumentation. But there are equally strong moments when Swift takes a step back and lets Morgan’s unadorned magic steal the show. Her songwriting is vivid and dense, her visions nightmarish and romantic — a kind of Laura Palmer songbook.   “Other Side of the Boundary” boasts nothing more than her voice and guitar, with just a touch of reverb. “I’m a love song/just a love song, waiting/for the dance floor to fill in/to be of use for something.”

An auspicious debut,  Morgan has arrived fully formed with unique and intoxicating blend of catchy, pop sensibilities and heady, eccentric passages on full display. She is the pop artist we need in these strange times — both familiar and enigmatic. Hopefully, we have only just seen the beginning. words / c depasquale

Springtime Carnivore ::   Sun Went Black

3 thoughts on “Springtime Carnivore

  1. I’m a 32 year old man and this makes me wanna dance in front of a mirror while singing into a hairbrush. Good stuff.

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