Michael Morris -​ Spicewood

Michael Morris

​Spicewood
self-released; 2015

3.3 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Hailing from McAllen, Texas, Michael Morris is a seventeen-year-old artist who recently released Spicewood. Spicewood is an EP that jumps drastically from genre to genre and by doing so doesn’t establish much of a foundation or style for Morris. 

The EP certainly is lo-fi and some songs would have unequivocally been more enjoyable if the recording quality and production was a bit better. That being said sometimes you just have to work with what you have. 

Morris opens with a melancholy, acoustic song entitled “Let Nature Take Its Course.” The song is well delivered and well-sung but isn’t much more than basic chords progressions and vocals. All things considered I was more impressed with jazzy LA noire sounding “-SCHISM-.” The horns sound atmospheric and sad while the bass holds down the main melody. I would have liked to hear more songs in this style on the EP. It reminded me of something you might hear in a Quentin Tarantino movie.

“Clue” has a funky surf vibe but unfortunately is held back by the subpar recording quality. “Colorful Prism” fares better but sounds like nothing else that came before it. There is an overt hip-hop style to his vocals and the song increases in tempo as it progresses.

​It’s another interesting style he may want to consider exploring more. “White Noise” is a well-sung song that has a beach, almost Jack Johnson vibe. The bongos feed in the tranquil quality to the song. 

At seventeen-years-old Morris has all the time in the word to define his style which is something he is going to want to do with upcoming releases. If he does that and finds a way to improve the recording quality he should be well on his way.

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