When Kansas native Kevin Morby dropped out of high school and moved to Brooklyn in the mid-’00s, he was drawn to his new home initially from what he’d seen in films and read in books – a romance for a new, different place, where you can re-shape yourself into the person you’ve always wanted to be. For Morby, that was to be a singer, songwriter, guitarist and leader-of-the-band, like his enigmatic heroes Lou Reed and Bob Dylan. After playing bass in noisy folk group Woods, Morby formed a band called The Babies with Cassie Ramone of Vivian Girls and released two albums under that name, 2011’s *The Babies* and 2012’s *Our House on the Hill*, before moving way out west to Los Angeles and working on an album inspired by New York City. This would become his 2013 solo album, *Harlem River*: a sprawling and soothing meander through Morby’s mind, drawing on his emotional observations and deeply-rooted love for rock and folk melodies.
