PAW by NEAL MORGAN
PAW is Neal Morgan’s magnum opus seven years in the making, his first new release of music since 2017. It's the product of a creative pivot to pop music for an artist most known for his work as a drummer for songwriters Joanna Newsom (Have One On Me, Divers), Bill Callahan (Apocalypse), among others, and for his four percussion-heavy previous solo albums.
Weaving together elements and inspirations from Motown and 70s synths to 90s rock and early aughts indie, PAW is contoured and colorful over its 85-minutes of music, built around a spine of vibrant pop songs.
Lyrically, the album finds Morgan at the height of his powers. The water is warm for poetry-focused listeners: a 24-song portrait of true love—of one human and two animals, centrally—illustrated through calves, goats, bat caves, milk-pouring, and the sensuality of the natural world.
PAW is also the first of Morgan’s albums to feature collaborators. The songs are brought to life with soaring strings from Mirabai Peart (Joanna Newsom), shimmering guitars from Dan Elkan (Broken Bells, Hella), Jamerson/Pastorius bass from Ian “Yuck” Lindsay, and jazzy keys from Akila Fields.
A fixture of the Portland OR music and arts community, Morgan has collaborated with dozens of contemporaries, from Amen Dunes to Roy Harper, and on multiple film soundtracks, including the Netflix documentary series Wild Wild Country.
Tracklist
| 1. | Awake Again | 2:12 |
| 2. | 50 | 1:56 |
| 3. | Feels Good | 3:05 |
| 4. | Heart Ape | 3:40 |
| 5. | Bald Eagle Bathing | 2:44 |
| 6. | Starting Over | 6:57 |
| 7. | Sit Around Dumb | 3:00 |
| 8. | Bottle | 1:01 |
| 9. | Calf Kicks Calf | 1:46 |
| 10. | Now | 3:49 |
| 11. | Goat Finds Fruit | 2:40 |
| 12. | The Cave I | 4:50 |
| 13. | Old Pain | 2:10 |
| 14. | 50 Reprise | 2:27 |
| 15. | The Cave II | 4:37 |
| 16. | Plums Coming In | 7:04 |
| 17. | Rabbit Dreaming | 3:59 |
| 18. | Shania | 6:01 |
| 19. | Spatula City | 4:44 |
| 20. | Dave | 3:58 |
| 21. | When You Bathe | 2:30 |
| 22. | Holding It Down | 3:10 |
| 23. | Goat On Roof | 3:39 |
| 24. | 3PM | 3:19 |
Credits
Featuring:
Akila Fields -- Piano, Rhodes, Synthesizer 4,16,18,19,20
Anthony Schatz -- Affected Piano, Synthesizer, Guitar 14,17,21
Dan Elkan -- Electric & Acoustic Guitar 2,6,7,10,14,15
Daryl Groetsch -- Synthesizer 12
Ian "Yuck" Lindsay -- Electric & Double Bass 2,6,7,8,10,14,15,16,19,20
Mirabai Peart -- Viola, Violin, Voice 2,4,6,7,8,9
Naropa Sabine -- Voice 23
Robin Bacior -- Piano 4
Ryan Donnelly -- Voice 18
Samwise Carlson -- Acoustic & Electric Guitar, Voice 6,19
PAW written & arranged by Neal Morgan
Recorded by multiple engineers incl. Tobias Berblinger
Mixed by Neal & Tobias Berblinger w/ Dan Elkan
Sequenced by Dan Elkan
Mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk
Full liner notes nealmorgan.info/linernotes
Released
March 14, 2025
24 songs, total time 85:18
A 42:17 B 43:01
License
All rights reserved.
Neal has released five solo albums since 2009 including 2025's pop double-album PAW. As a drummer, he's worked with Joanna Newsom (Have One On Me, Divers), Bill Callahan (Apocalypse), Amen Dunes, Roy Harper, and dozens of other intrepid songwriters, and on multiple film soundtracks, including Netflix's Wild Wild Country. Neal lives in Portland, OR and was born and raised in Nevada City, CA.