I knew I was going to like Myles Morgan from the moment I saw the artwork. Sometimes you see a great cover and you approach the music with trepidation, but something about the stark black and white portrait just felt right. And so, when I pressed play for the first time, it was no surprise to find that Ikywc is a brilliantly woozy, jazz-infused slice of soulful alt-pop.

The track opens with a sparse guitar and vocal. The guitar sounds great too – absolutely drenched in reverb – before Morgan’s rich voice enters into the fray with the opening lines “I knew you wasn’t coming from the moment you said you was coming / Well that’s my evening fucked / No kisses and hugs / Just me again / Sitting on my own again”. There’s something utterly gorgeous about the way the melody stretches out for what seems like an age. By the time the rest of the band slip in, you’re basically powerless to resist. You’re in it for the long haul now.

Things step up another gear soon after, with the verse giving way to rippling waves of saxophone that seem to play off against one another like a conversation unfolding. Again, it’s just a treat to behold, and time seems to slow down as you find yourself getting lost in the flawless production. I love the wandering bass, locked in with the drums, underpinning everything. There’s a real economy to the playing too – nothing showy. Everything sounds effortless in that way that things only can when an artist really knows what they’re doing.

Vocally, Morgan reminds me of King Krule – both in terms of timbre and delivery – but there are also hints of Amy Winehouse bubbling under the surface. I read an interview where Morgan described the Arctic Monkeys as an early influence and, though there’s not much (if any) of their sound filtered into Ikywc, there’s certainly a shared talent for writing astute lyrics that cut through and connect with the listener. After all, who hasn’t felt crushing disappointment to the point that even your bones ache?

Ikywc is, in a word, superb. I can’t really put it any other way. Someone needs to call Richard Russell, because this is a guy that needs to be snapped up ASAP.

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You can find Myles Morgan on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

* This track was discovered via Musosoup. A small fee was paid in exchange for publication. See ‘About / Contact’ page for more details.