PopCrush Presents: Morly

Every week at PopCrush, we’re putting the spotlight on one up-and-coming act you need to know about. Why? So you can get on board early before everyone else and their mother jumps on the bandwagon…and so you can be that one friend in the group who’s always like, “Um, actually, I prefer their earlier work.”

Somehow, Minnesota-born producer and singer Morly's music listens the same way the painted cover of her new EP looks: It impresses an immediate melancholy, its technique and color schemes are slightly unresolved and — across overlapping lo-fi effects — the whole of it is ultimately left up to interpretation. Still, that doesn't mean the artist's work doesn't have a point to make.

Morly, who released the four-track Something More Holy earlier this month, mixes moody, bleak tones with modern pop production for tracks that strike like beautifully ominous storm clouds. And "If Only Chords," which cuts through a stark intro with chaotic electric effects, speaks to the power of its split-second shifts: like wind, the song can change direction out of nowhere.

"For what are we but blood and memories / I beat my own heart," she croons over the track with a sense of contained, buzzy chaos.

Considering the path the 28-year-old took to music, it's no wonder her craft is layered. She told Interview in February that she entered college with a neuroscience future in mind, and felt depressed immediately upon graduating — aware that she wanted to make music, but too afraid to give performance a shot. Finally, after a set at First Avenue in Minneapolis, Morly committed to learning how to produce, and is only recently getting comfortable with the role of an official act, herself.

"I think all of my music has been a process of justifying making music, just because it's taken me so long to convince myself that it's okay to do this, and that my voice is worthwhile and it's a valid thing for me to be spending my time doing," she said. "I think because it was such a foreign thing for me, it's taken a while to realize this is my reality. I can be doing this for a career."

Now, Morly's hitting the road with former PopCrush Presents feature Lapsley for a Spring 2016 tour that kicks off on April 20th in San Francisco. Download a copy of Something More Holy on iTunes, check out a if and when they'll swing by your city and share your thoughts on the music in the comments.

Who would you like to see featured in PopCrush Presents next? Tweet us at @popcrush with your recommendations using #PopCrushPresents!

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