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Morrow - Morrow

Rating

RIYL

Ladyhawk
Bon Iver
The National

Release Date

05/20/2009

Label

Excursions in the Abyss

Tracklist

1. Ashland
2. Sweet Respite to a Nevermore Melody
3. The Unsound
4. Who Will Be King Over All the Dead
5. June Weather
6. Ship as My Mistress
7. By the Light of the Moon
8. Sustenance
9. Weather Prophets
10. White Elephants
11. Bombs
12. The Great Escape

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Recent Ratings
revolutionsummer	Rick Gebhardt

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Morrow, the Indiana quartet play dark, soulful rock with a mix between both modern and classic styles. The band started out as a solo project for Jarod Isenbarger in 2005 and then grew into a full band only a year later. Their self-titled full length is the first for the group and takes listeners on a melancholy journey through alienation, harsh truths, and dealing with pain and loss.

The album starts off with “Ashland,” featuring only guitar and vocals for the first two-thirds of the song, and it shows Morrow’s ability to create a mood using a minimalistic approach. The rest of the band shows up at the last part of the track, giving it a much needed dynamic change, before returning to the subdued sound once again to end the song. “Sweet Respite…” follows and shows a heavier side of the band as Isenbarger yells over the chorus in between slowly building verses. The song ends a little abruptly, but gives listeners a glimpse of Morrow’s more aggressive style.

The full length starts to come to life a bit with the next few songs, each with a more standard structured rock format. There’s nothing particularly noteworthy about these tracks, but they at least mix up the album and pick up the tempo to keep the listener engaged. Some of the better tunes come towards the end of the release. “Sustenance” has an upbeat infectious rhythm that carries the song and counters the leisurely vocal melody. Also, “White Elephants” is probably the best track on here; it’s an all around well made rock song, and one of few on the album where every member is contributing something memorable.

Overall, though, the best way to describe Morrow’s debut is vanilla. There are some bright moments here and there but few songs are great all the way through. The monotonous vocal melodies don’t help either, and Isenbarger – as well as the band as a whole – would benefit from venturing outside their comfort zones. This is a safe album, musically and vocally, that isn’t bad but isn’t particularly good either, and if nothing else, would make for good background music while doing homework or working at the office.

--Nicholas Fritz