After Kevin Morby was forced to cancel the remainder of his Oh My God tour due to the pandemic, the singer returned to his Kansas hometown and figured it was time to put the final touches on his record Sundowner. After previewing the record with “Don’t Underestimate Midwest American Sun,” “Wander,” and “Campfire,” Morby offers a final taste of the upcoming project with the title track, “Sundowner.”
Recorded in his shed-turned studio, “Sundowner” offers a reflection on getting used to life in a small town. In a statement about the track, Morby said the term “Sundowner” comes from a nostalgic feeling he would get at dusk after moving from LA to Kansas:
“When I first moved back home to Kansas after having lived on both coasts for over a decade, I found myself – for the first time – dreading the sun going down. This was a foreign feeling for me. In both Los Angeles and New York, I resisted the day light and thrived in the night – something I have sung about many times, most notably on my album City Music. But suddenly there I was, isolated in the Midwest in late autumn – the days growing increasingly shorter – chasing the sun as best I could.”
About the upcoming album as a whole, Morby offers a snapshot of the themes that went into his songwriting process. “It is a depiction of isolation,” Morby said. “Of the past. Of an uncertain future. Of provisions. Of an omen. Of a dead deer. Of an icon. Of a Los Angeles themed hotel in rural Kansas. Of billowing campfires, a mermaid and a highway lined in rabbit fur. It is a depiction of the nervous feeling that comes with the sky’s proud announcement that another day will be soon coming to a close as the pink light recedes and the street lamps and house lights suddenly click on.”
Listen to “Sundowner” above.
Sundowner is out 10/16 via Dead Oceans. Pre-order it here.
