Much of the northern half of the United States, at this time, is layered with at least a half-foot of the white stuff. Our rivers are blocked up with ice, creaking in their solid states as temperatures barely rise above single digits. The Charles River, as it lies in wake in this form, isn’t a place where it brings out the devilish, suicidal thoughts that it normally does when it’s free-flowing from Hopkinton (the city where the Boston Marathon begins) to the Boston Harbor. Characters from novels by Faulkner and Plath both contemplated committing suicide in the Charles. Who knows how many others have done the same thing, though this could probably be said about any number of bridges with tall enough leaping points. Along this active body of water are situated three of the most revered institutions of learning in the world – Harvard, Boston University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Those waters hold secrets and swirl with the gazings of countless brainiacs and scholars. It’s where Massachusetts native Andrew Morgan goes these days to think, preferring its inactivity to any rushing it might do under warmer climates. He’s finally in his final semester of studies at Harvard, where he’s finishing the master’s degree that he started in 2003, studying philosophy, theology and religion. He says that 25-percent of it all is life-changing and the other 75-percent is mind-numbing. We don’t like how that breaks down, but it’s his numb mind, not ours. That frozen Charles River is an apt metaphor for the kind of music Morgan’s already written and the kind he’s assuredly writing for his forthcoming sophomore release, following his debut disc, Misadventures In Radiology. There’s something very recognizably consistent happening on the surface of his music – a nod to the pop songwriting sensibilities of Elliott Smith, Mike Viola and Rufus Wainwright – but there are bits and pieces of flotsam and jetsam, like logs and organisms that can continue living while being submerged for a winter, passing by under the sheet of ice. The warmth that can be found in the songs on Misadventures In Radiology is still a cold warmth. Morgan, on his MySpace page, even describes his sound as being like “your favorite sweater.” There’s a lot of truth in the observation, but it could be taken a step further. His sound is more like a combination of that favorite sweater, the iced-over Charles River and the coating of stiff drinks given to the torso the sweater’s keeping in – possibly eliminating the need for the sweater at all. – Sean Moeller

In a non-itemized manner, Morgan fills Daytrotter in on this week at the end of January:

After taking a pummeling at the hands of fall semester finals, I’ve been laying pretty low. Most days I wake up, drink some Metropolis coffee I’ve had shipped in from Chicago, and smoke a few cigarettes before heading to the music school to play piano. The pianos are woefully out of tune, so after an hour or so I leave and take a walk to the Charles River. It’s beautiful there, especially now that the water is frozen over. Usually I listen to Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue (my all-time favorite record) or Nick Drake’s Bryter Later while I walk, but lately I’ve been listening to Voxtrot’s Raised By Wolves EP. It wears its influences on its sleeve, but in the best way. On the way home I stop by Woody’s Liquors and pick up a bottle of Viu Manent Malbec, which is only $8 and not bad at all. After dinner, I spend the night sitting by a space heater and a candle, playing hours and hours of guitar, drinking wine, and eating a chocolate bar. All of this usually transpires with DVDs of the TV show Alias on in the background, which continues to be a favorite of mine even after its cancellation. Come Wednesday (Sean’s note: two weeks ago), this happy routine will grind to a halt as I’m held hostage by any number of excruciatingly boring texts. Thank God it’s my last semester.

Andrew Morgan Official Site
Sonic Boom Recordings