Moreton Wrench Our Hearts Once More with their New Single
Byron Bay alt-rock four-piece Moreton have released their new hit single, “See Yourself”, featuring world-renowned Irish singer James Vincent McMorrow, and it is honestly more heartbreaking on every listen.
Bravely describing the struggle of sharing your darkest, innermost thoughts and struggles with the person closest to you, the track is unwaveringly honest and heartwrenching.
Coming hot off the heels of their first single “Circles” and an East Coast tour that kept the group on the road throughout the beginning of the year, the guitar ballad, which includes a sneaky Marilyn Monroe quote, nods to classic dark rock acts like The National, The Drones and Elliott Smith.
Tender vocals sitting, alongside the faint twinkle of vintage synthesizers, tie the track together into a work that is at once powerful and fragile, heartwarming and devastating. A sound becoming synonymous with Moreton and their broody minimalism.
The duet came about after James took Moreton on his national tour in 2017, having stumbled across Moreton's first EP on Spotify prior and requested the band join him on the road. There must be something in the water in Dublin and Brisbane, because they all became fast friends and kept in touch.
“I can't remember who played me a Moreton track first; I loved it. Kind of kept it in the back of my mind until we were touring in 2017 and I reached out to ask if they'd come open for me. Every night the show Georgia and her band put on was fairly spellbinding”, says McMorrow. “We kept in touch and about 3 months later she hit me up to say they were working on a track and would I be part of it. Honestly the song didn't change much if at all from the original demo I got, tonally the lyrics just felt like something I wanted to sing at that exact moment that it was sent to me, I literally grabbed some mics and hung out in a walk-in wardrobe amongst the clothes just singing it over and over. It's pretty rare that someone sings a lyric like that, that is so on the nose in terms of its subject matter, and it doesn't come across remotely insincere. It's a tough prospect to land a song like that and Georgia really nailed it, so I'm grateful to be part of it, and I hope that when people hear it, that they find a fragment of themselves in it”.
“See Yourself” tackles a weighted but universal issue; that of letting a new love witness your flaws for the first time, and asking if they'll stay by you. A bad habit, an addiction, a vice, or more specifically, the battle with depression.
"It's a common story, that our loved ones are the last to know when we're at our worst," said lead singer Georgia.
There is an intoxicating majesty between the serene and the melancholic which underpins the music of Brisbane/Byron Bay 4-piece Moreton. Finding light and hope from within powerful, sometimes haunting moments, Moreton is a rock band with a folk heart.
Moreton’s new EP - The Dog Years - which will be released later in 2019, was produced by Matthew Neighbour (Matt Corby, Jen Cloher) and Alex Henriksson. The upcoming release will see the group couch those sombre emotions in songs that swing from a love of alternative art rock and its charged atmospheres into more intimate and orchestral moments.
This EP is set to build on the previous success of the band, whose latest single “Circles” was added to full rotation on Double J, debuted on air by Richard Kingsmill, won the band a spot as a triple j Unearthed feature artist, and garnered many stellar Unearthed reviews. The track was also added to Spotify playlists such as New Music Friday AU, Indie Arrivals, Chords and Cardigan, and Low Key Weekend.
Praise for Moreton:
“Masterfully melts hope and despair into single sentences, punching through the feet-dragged composition with lingering one-liners.”
- Rolling Stone Australia
“An utterly sublime, evocative, yet wholly tranquil experience; more a meandering, delayed sense of gratification than direct and instant relief - and all the more a pleasure to listen to for it.”
- The Music
“This sucked me in immediately. It's got a hypnotic, swirling dynamic, but Georgia's voice has the weight to give it a clear direction the whole way through.”
- Richard Kingsmill (triple j) on “Circles”
