Kelly Kirwan
It opens with a soft, staccato strumming, an unraveling of richly resonating guitar notes. They linger in the air, painting the melody in broad, slowly-dissipating strokes. It's a tune that consoles while simultaneously eliciting pangs of a nostalgia you can’t quite place. “All of Us” is Layperson’s latest, one of the five tracks that comprise the Portland-based musician’s freshly minted EP, Tidings.
As the title suggests, Layperson’s new music explores “overlapping cycles.” Depending on the tide, we’re either neck-deep in rising water or have our feet firmly planted on solid ground. And while this pendulum can sound daunting, Layperson (otherwise known has Julian Morris) navigates these currents with a soft touch. His melodies are made with smooth lines, a buoyancy in the interplay between the strings and subtle glint off the piano riffs (whether it be organ or Wurlitzer).
“The colors are running off / No saint for the cause / I savor the last of my drops,” Morris sings, and his voice has an old-soul quality, like a more polished Jackson Browne. It's particularly apparent in the way his pitch rises and dips over the lines, “We came for love / But it’s not the only thing that we want.” Layperson’s lyrics are imbued with the effortless understanding that so often comes with hindsight. “All of Us,” in the best possible way, feels like it should cue a film’s credits—a film where the hero sets forth on the open road, letting one story fade into the next. We just hope Layperson will be playing wherever “next” may be.