Joshua Morrison profile picture

Joshua Morrison

Home again: July 14th @ the Triple Door!

About Me

4 1/2 stars (out of 5)

The military took Joshua Morrison away from Seattle, and then helped him create one of the greatest albums of 2007.
--Seattle Sound

Joshua Morrison grew up listening to local artists Death Cab for Cutie and Pedro the Lion. I don’t say that to make you feel old but to give you an idea of where his influences come from. That, along with the three years he’s spent in the Army and away fighting in Iraq. While in Iraq he would scribble down lyrics and record when he was back home @ Fort Lewis. Incredible insight into the mind of a young and talented man serving his country and one of the best singer/songwriters this area has seen since Elliott Smith made his home in Portland. --John Richards of KEXP, for The Crystal Ball for Seattle Sound

LISTEN TO THIS

Occasionally, despite being behind in my projects...I will hear something so fantastic I have to drop what I am doing and let you know about it. John Richards (KEXP) played a song by Joshua Morrison on his morning radio program yesterday that stopped me in my tracks (“Home” the title track from his new album). Now, Joshua is a singer-songwriter, and truth be told, I am not really entranced by this particular genre with few exceptions: Ray LaMontagne, Damien Rice, Alexi Murdoch and the like. Joshua is a veteran of the Iraq War and he crafts amazingly gentle, breathy compositions packed with immense sentiment. His songs will plow through the fortress you have erected around yourself to keep the bad stuff out, and remind you what it means to be human. --Renata Sadunas, Music Editor, amazon.com

His debut album, Home, is a quiet, peaceful affair, sublimating whatever stress or pain Morrison has suffered into calm, reflective ballads of love and homecoming. -- The Stranger

With "Home" Joshua Morrison makes his mark on a local scene already filled with an abundance of excellent singer-songwriter types. He fits right in with the Votolatos and Bazans of Seattle and throughout the record shows he has the potential to hang with the Gibbards and Smiths of the Northwest music world.

Morrison's smoky, yet smooth voice coupled with the emotion that seeps through his lyrics make for some powerfully poignant music. Like most every effective songwriter, Morrison draws from his own experiences for source material and his music touches on the typical songwriter tales of life while in pursuit of love and happiness.

However, unlike most songwriters, the well of life experiences he draws from includes having served a tour of duty in the Army in Iraq. This is one of the many things that makes his emotionally powerful music so unique and Morrison himself stand out amongst those in the rather crowded local singer-songwriter scene.--Seattle PI

Any Joshua Morrison review that fails to mention that he sounds exactly like Mark Kozelek (most notably of Red House Painters) should be called into question. The vocals on “Commerce Street” are so similar to Kozelek’s hushed and wavering tones you might get to thinking that some sort of switcheroo has transpired between the two: Morrison usurps Kozelek’s place in the indie spotlight, and Kozelek assumes Morrison’s life -- in the army.

That’s right: Morrison’s debut, Home, was recorded after he returned from Iraq, and he remains active in the military. This came as some surprise to me, and revealed a certain irony of popular music I continue to participate in: Morrison is the only songwriter I can think of who I look to for voice and conscience (over matters of war) and can also speak firsthand about an experience in the military.

Yet Morrison’s Home does so tenderly, sidestepping protest songs and anti-war anthems, uncovering instead the simple hopes of a twenty-something walking the line between duty and longing. With a knowing inflection, Morrison sings about the things he missed, hoped for, and dreamt about while stationed in Iraq, revealing through simple acoustic arrangements the heart of, in some ways, many soldiers like him. The title track expresses a quiet realization upon his return: “Oh my God/ I nearly died/ When I saw you in that dress/ I felt alive for the first time since I left home.” For someone with firsthand combat experience, the soft-spoken lyrics on “Madness” are poetic and hard-earned: “When I see your face/ It gives me hope/ For something more.”

Although folks like Kozelek (or me, for that matter) might not be so quick to trade places with Morrison, and young Morrison himself offers no solutions for the current occupation in Iraq, a quick look through his MySpace profile offers one distinguishing perspective: one picture shows a small ethnic girl looking out from the inside of an armored truck; another, a sketch of mountains and pine trees. It appears that Morrison has and will continue to make connections with all spheres of his world, and what’s so beautiful about this release is its quiet recognition those simple actions: honesty, connection, and awareness.--prefix.com

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 8/4/2005
Band Website: jmorrisonmusic.com
Band Members: Joshua Morrison. People I've most recently had the privilege to play with: James McAlister (drums); Rebecca Young (Bass); and Barb Hunter (cello); in near recent past: Trey Many (drums) & Neal Vickers (cello); the privilege to record with: Joe Richner (bass), Brandon Olson (drums), Bethany Woll (backing vocals), Jeramy Koepping (organ on alabaster) Alina To (strings on shotgun wedding).
Influences: Favorite records-Pedro the Lion: It's Hard to Find a Friend -David Gray: White Ladder -Travis: The Man Who -Innocence mission: befriended -Ryan Adams: Heartbreaker -Damien Rice: "O" -Sigur rós: ágætis byrjun
Sounds Like:
Record Label: Expanding Brooklyn
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Empty house=new song

I've just posted a new song. Recorded in my bedroom. Let me know what you think.-jm
Posted by Joshua Morrison on Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:54:00 PST

My Sasquatch! weekend

How do I write about the 60 hours that was my weekend in Washington state? Now that I've had a little sleep and a few days to digest my Sasquatch experience, here it goes... I've always wanted to att...
Posted by Joshua Morrison on Fri, 30 May 2008 01:19:00 PST

Current TV

I did an interview at Current TV in LA while I was home on leave and they just posted a portion of it on their website.       http://current.com/items/88950061_...
Posted by Joshua Morrison on Sat, 17 May 2008 07:32:00 PST

"Sass-quatch" prep....

2 weeks until Sasquatch. I can't wait.Both KEXP and Seattle Sound have done some nice Sasquatch prep. Seattle Sound is nearly entirely dedicated to the festival, and features a generous article writ...
Posted by Joshua Morrison on Mon, 12 May 2008 12:05:00 PST

A month off

4/14Tomorrow, I go back to work after 30 days of leave. It always takes awhile to transition back into army life, but things should go smoothly.  I just moved in w/a buddy of mine off of post, and it ...
Posted by Joshua Morrison on Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:09:00 PST

R T L

about to board a plane to seattle, but just saw this article on seattle sound’s website:seattle soundthanks to all for your continued support!! it’s much appreciated.-jm...
Posted by Joshua Morrison on Mon, 24 Mar 2008 11:14:00 PST

SxSW

Here’s a somewhat scatter-brained list of the things I enjoyed about Austin and SXSW. I signed out on leave 2pm Thursday afternoon and was watching Liam Finn at the dell...
Posted by Joshua Morrison on Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:31:00 PST

Pitchfork

Read the Pitchfork review! if you get a chance.  -josh
Posted by Joshua Morrison on Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:12:00 PST

moving

I'm excited about flying to Austin for sxsw in a couple of weeks.  I've always wanted to attend so it's a blessing to play.  Several days later, I'm flying back to Fayetteville, lo...
Posted by Joshua Morrison on Tue, 04 Mar 2008 06:33:00 PST

Geography, Jellyfish and Survival...KEXP

Hi there--Thank goodness for KEXP!!!! I have another song on KEXP's Music That Matters podcast, Vol. 82: "Geography, Jellyfish and Survival." In it, John in the Morning brings you the best of the Mor...
Posted by Joshua Morrison on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 02:20:00 PST