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Music

Clair Morgan's "Rogue Island" Is 2016's Answer to Your Funky, Folky Guitar Prayers

If you’re into bands like Cap’n Jazz, Death Cab for Cutie, Pinegrove or Foxing, this is a song you need to check out.

Photo courtesy of the band

Clair Morgan is a seven-piece band from Richmond, Virginia, here to remind you that sometimes, more is actually more. From the freaky, spaced out guitar riffs at the beginning of "Rogue Island," you know you’re about to embark on a very layered, thought-out song. The lyrics may be care-free, but there’s something darker lurking underneath. Like Andrew Bird meets Teenage Fanclub, the guitars immediately give away how unsure and insecure the song feels, despite the impeccable execution. "'Rogue Island' is about perspective shifts [and] how a different lens can dramatically alter how you see the same experience," says Clair Morgan, the band's leader. "It's an odd sort of open letter to my parents. Since becoming a father, I’ve replayed moments back in my head and, of course, have so many questions about decisions my parents made and things I would do differently. At the same time, I’ve been trying to process and acknowledge that my parents were just people like everyone else, trying to figure shit out as they went. It's a weird shift that takes place, from viewing your parents as superheroes that have all of the answers to realizing they were just as confused and clueless as the rest of us.”

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If you’re into bands like Cap’n Jazz, Death Cab for Cutie, Pinegrove or Foxing, this is a song you need to check out.

Their album is out May 6 via EggHunt records. Good luck waiting that long. In the meantime, check them out live.

2/18: Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter w/ Plain Scrap, Ishmael and Geometers

2/26: Richmond, VA @ Hardywood Park (GOOD DAY RVA video release show) w/ Victorious Trees and GT

3/11: Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter w/ Camp Howard and TBA

4/1: Richmond, VA @ Hardywood Park w/ Spooky Cool and Atlantic Thrills

4/14: NYC @ Rockwood Music Hall w/ Albis

5/6: Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry (record release show)