Massive Leaning is out 11/10/23 via Lung Records and Bud Tapes.
“What’s left when we’ve truly traversed the knotty panoramas of the heart? Massive Leaning, in the end, comes to represent the feeling space in which all the moments of tumult—grief and gravity, passion and pain—come to rest and are cherished as glimmering jewels gathered from the dark tide. Morris finds himself sitting still “in the seated position, right on the dotted line” fingering the pulse of being, stretched between the ordinary and the eternal, the everyday and the exquisite, to admit that “you get as close as you can to hold your own design” only to watch clarity vanish as quickly as it had come. To be human is to be held in the vulnerability of attempt—to compose one’s life and submit to one’s loves in the face of impermanence. Yet the wonder of witness remains, what we’ve seen and experienced cannot be unlearned, and it echoes like a clear bell in the depths of the soul.” -Jesse Carsten (Half Shadow), album art by Miles Wintner.
“Black Pool” serves as an alluring glimpse of what to expect from the forthcoming album. It is a single that irresistibly invites listeners to sing along, and it’s effortlessly captivating, making one wish the song would play on endlessly. Even with its catchy rhythm and uplifting feel, the song doesn’t shy away from its profound theme. As Morris reflects on the heartbreak, he describes the sensation as being on the brink of comprehension, noting, “It’s the kind of information that leaves your brain at the edge of what it can conceive. The song wasn’t overthought; it came out as spontaneously as a gut punch.” “Black Pool” captures that pivotal moment of fracture – when one world collapses and makes way for a new one to emerge. -C-heads Magazine, artwork by Liam Cobb
"It is a bracingly intimate album, a private conversation made public, but it is not solipsistic in the least. It is not the work of a self-pitying sadboy. The Divide is pop-as-commiseration, an arm extended to the listener. I’ve been there, it says. Been there in that place where everything overwhelms. It’s hard. Life is hard. But let’s see, it says. Let’s see if we can get through it together.” -Chris Stamm
Press
“Listening to Julian, you got the feeling that you were hearing something deeply personal, both in the lyrics themselves and in the way that he delivered them. He could quiet a room or tear its roof off, and either way people heard him and wanted to be closer. It was voyeurism with a permission slip.”
“(Layperson’s) songs resonate with the kind of infectious, wide-eyed joy that sounds ready for whatever’s next.”
“No matter the octave or outlet, or whether it's a "big voice from nowhere" or an all-knowing voice somewhere within, Morris encourages himself and his audience to listen.”
Contact Layperson
julianmcgrathmorris@gmail.com