Photo by Eddie O’Keefe
After years of starts and stops, Greta Morgan is finally realizing her musical vision. She started as a teenager in the Chicago-based band the Hush Sound, earning a record contract and a Billboard-cracking album before it all fell apart in 2008. Gold Motel followed next for a few years, but Morgan longed for a solo project. She reinvented herself again as Springtime Carnivore, writing and recording on her own. Her demos led to another label contract and studio time with Richard Swift, whose work with the Black Keys, the Shins, and Foxygen dovetails nicely with Morgan’s own aesthetic.
Springtime Carnivore puts Morgan’s pop songwriting in a house of mirrors. The melodies are simple and bright, but they’re built within a warped, pseudo-’60s framework. At times, Morgan sounds like a cross between Neko Case, Nancy Sinatra, and Debbie Harry. “Name On A Matchbook” bounces on Motown-inspired beat, but Morgan’s voice is hidden behind distortion–sweet and sour, all in one bite.
