"One of the more intriguing collections of music to come out of Portland in recent memory" - Willamette Week feature 3/12

Early coverage/playlisting from Brooklyn Vegan, Stereogum, NPR Music, Talkhouse, AU Review, XRAY.FM & more

Neal Morgan Pop Double Album PAW

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VIDEOS Feels Good Bald Eagle Bathing Spatula City Announcement

RADIO APPEARANCES XRAY.FM 4/10/25 KVMRx 1/1/25

PAW is Neal Morgan’s magnum opus seven years in the making, the product of a creative pivot to pop music for an artist most known for his work as a drummer for Joanna Newsom (2006-2013; Have One On Me, Divers), Bill Callahan (2009-2012; Apocalypse) and other intrepid artists from Amen Dunes to Roy Harper, and for his four drum-heavy previous solo albums.

"lushly-arranged baroque pop territory" - Brooklyn Vegan 

From the Motown-inspired "50" to the Smoke-Ring-era-Kurt-Vile-inspired "Feels Good"; from the 90s rock "The Cave II" to the pretty lapping waves of “Dave”; from the Strokes-homage "Now" to whatever "Shania" is, PAW is contoured and colorful over 85 minutes of music built around a spine of vibrant pop songs. 

PAW is a 24-song portrait of true love—of one human and two animals, centrally—and of the calves, goats, bat caves, milk-pouring, sex, and art in the sensual world that has surrounded and animated it. Animals take a starring role in particular: “each animal that pops in is essential to how the songs move and what they’re about,” Morgan says. “In that way, PAW might be kind of like Where’s Waldo? for my fellow animal lovers out there.”

“In terms of its ambition, PAW brings to mind Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee” - Willamette Week

Lyrically, PAW finds Morgan at the height of his powers. The water is warm for poetry-focused listeners. He’s loose ("Plums Coming In": “You’d think a wet dream woulda stopped by 43”), playful ("Heart Ape": “New Bond movie confused me to my soul”), visual ("Calf Kicks Calf": “Two snakes in the sun / Calf kicks calf and runs”), and pays homage with quotes of some of his favorite pop lyrics ("Shania" via Missy Elliott + Tweet Oops: “There goes my shirt up over your head, oh my”).

PAW is the first of Morgan’s albums to feature collaborators. The songs are brought to life with soaring strings from Mirabai Peart (Joanna Newsom), shimmering guitars from Dan Elkan (Broken Bells, Hella), Jamerson/Pastorius bass from Ian “Yuck” Lindsay, jazzy keys from Akila Fields, pretty guitar from Samwise Carlson (Tispur), and synth from Daryl Groetsch (Pulse Emitter), among others. 

KEY FOR REVIEWERS, MUSIC DIRECTORS, DJs suggested in bold, * for singles/featured songs, (E) = explicit