“Oh my Lord, come carry me home/ Oh my God, oh my Lord,” sings Kevin Morby over a simple piano line at the opening of his fifth album, Oh My God . Moments later, background singers hum around a saxophone solo, as the song dissipates into a quiet meditative state. It’s beautiful and sounds redemptive—but also sets up the mood for the rest of the extended LP. And as the title suggests, the former Woods bassist and indie-psych world’s answer to Leonard Cohen seems to be on a path to a higher calling this time around, with rather blatant examples shining through. On “No Halo,” he examines his own inadequacies and sin; he taps into a gospel-vibe on the ultra-chill reflective “Nothing Sacred/All Things Wild,” and revisits a heavy dose of fear on “Piss River”— where he exclaims, “Oh my God!” at times throughout. At the opening of the doo-woppy “Congratulations” there’s even a little girl’s voice heard apologizing to God. God is a thing, it’s an expression, it’s confusion, it’s repenting, it’s pleasure and it’s anger for Morby. However, God can also be sweet, and a lot of Oh My God
drips with angelic moments. But it’s more than that. There are bluesyrock elements in the vein of the Velvet Underground on “OMG Rock n Roll,” while “Hail Mary” feels like a rollicking, early-1970s Dylan tune, where the tempo changes abruptly throughout and he sings about going long—for Morby, a true Hail Mary might be falling in love, not a prayer. Morby’s debut album Harlem River came out in 2013, and he’s been cranking out full-lengths every other year since then. This work ethic is on full display here— Oh My God is a fun, poignant, diverse statement of an artist getting better with each release.