This Is a Photograph
by Kevin Morby
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 15 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 15
  3. Negative: 1 out of 15
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  1. Skouzbex
    Dec 23, 2022
    10
    We feel through this album a poetic sincerity, the titles have a sound of ''déjà vu'' whereas no, simply and just excellent. Favorite track: goodbye to the good times
  2. indierash
    Jun 28, 2022
    9
    Kevin Morby was at his childhood home in Kansas City not too long ago, where one evening after dinner, he witnessed his father collapse in front of him. They took his father to the hospital and he would eventually recover, but it forever profoundly changed the musician.

    Reeling from shock, fear, and anxiety about what happened to his dad and how it shadowed his own life, Morby started    Kevin Morby was at his childhood home in Kansas City not too long ago, where one evening after dinner, he witnessed his father collapse in front of him. They took his father to the hospital and he would eventually recover, but it forever profoundly changed the musician.

    Reeling from shock, fear, and anxiety about what happened to his dad and how it shadowed his own life, Morby started pouring over a collection of old photographs of his family when a photo of his father struck him deeply and as a result This is a Photograph was born.

    Photograph is not only sonically rich, but a lyrically profound and deeply self contemplative album. With an arsenal of twisted emotions, Morby moved to Memphis to set up a studio at the Peabody Hotel, where he absorbed the musicians he admired that came through the area before him.

    The vast array of instruments Kevin used adds to the overall experience's complexity and richness of the album. Its intricately crafted, teasing surprises await around every corner, as Photograph draws you in right from the start, and leaves you in awe until the very end.

    Morby has crafted a grand sprawl of Tennessee, Americana folk-rock with his latest release. All these songs have their own individual style, and Morby expertly ties them all together, culminating in an album with a stunning overall flow. Airy, dreamy reverb and warm and haunting room tone that only Memphis can generate are ever present throughout Photograph and Morby sounds right at home here.    … Expand
  3. extintordodidi
    Jun 3, 2022
    8
    Absolutely stunning! An amazing album that every track is unskippable and beautiful at any single detail. Truly masterpiece.
  4. Dmdobr02
    May 14, 2022
    10
    There are no skips on this album. It’s a thing of beauty. Kevin takes you on a journey from the first track to the last. You can tell he is deeply dialed in to deliver a masterpiece.
  5. All_ButTrU4
    May 13, 2022
    7
    Morby greatest record since the world weary "singing saw". It's a laborious undertaking that instead comes through as a understand grand statement. This is one of the year bests for sure.
  6. ChiliPants
    May 13, 2022
    10
    Morby writes his best lyrics and composes his best muscial output yet, surpassing an already high bar of excellence.
  7. Nietzschebot
    May 13, 2022
    10
    Heaths are very scary. Just ask Macbeth. This is a great album. It is definitely one of his best.

Awards & Rankings

24
#24 Best Album of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Universal acclaim - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. The Guardian
    Jan 3, 2023
    80
    These are beautifully elegiac songs, celebrating life’s transient joy, struggle, laughter and heartbreak, reflecting the fact that “sometimes the good die young, and sometimes they survive”.
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  2. Beats Per Minute
    May 19, 2022
    76
    Even in his lost moments, like “A Random Act of Kindness” where he repeats “Out of time, out of money”, he searches out the hope while faced with setbacks and sorrow. It’s in these moments that Morby shines as that everyman – a role he has been crafted into through those various influences he holds up so high.
    Read full review
  3. Sputnikmusic
    May 18, 2022
    60
    This Is A Photograph is an album which aims for an impressively grand vision, but rarely hits the mark. In its less grandiose moments, though, it’s frequently successful, providing the listener with a number of lovely folk tunes.
    Read full review
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