Cashavelly Morrison Takes a New Shape with ‘Metamorphosis’

Cashavelly Morrison’s new album Metamorphosis is aptly named. With this release, Morrison steps out of the trappings of Americana that brought her acclaim in the past. Those familiar with her 2015 record The Kingdom Belongs to a Child know her sound was once tenuously rooted in Appalachian-tinged Americana. The West Virginia native blended the sounds of her home with indie sensibilities and a dash of world music for extra flavor. With this new album, Morrison created an ethereal listening experience.

Cashavelly Morrison Calls You Into the Dark

Cashavelly Morrison’s earlier releases brought to mind the hills and hollers of West Virginia. However, Metamorphosis brings to mind dark forests and cold winds. There’s something of deep-rooted mountain magic in the modern and surreal-sounding tracks on this album. Morrison’s voice floats through those dark forests, riding the cold gusts like a mournful ghost, calling in curious passers-by. Cashavelly tempts listeners to follow her into the mysterious world just beyond her sonic tree line. Metamorphosis may seem like alien territory – uncharted and strange – to those who enjoyed her earlier releases. However, the journey into the shadowed world of the record is a rewarding one.

However, you don’t need to be familiar with anything Cashavelly Morrison did in the past to take that journey. Those going in blind might compare Morrison’s vocals to Sarah McLachlan or Tori Amos. There’s a difference there. The spirits of Appalachia’s Celtic forebears twist their way through her voice. At the same time, there’s a haunting sorrow to nearly every note on the album that makes this record the perfect soundtrack to a gloomy fall day or a passionate night lit only by flickering candles.

In Metamorphosis, Cashavelly Morrison lays her voice over a dreamlike soundscape. For most of the album, the guitar is front-and-center. At times, like in “Rafters,” you’ll hear a steel guitar that harkens to her previous releases. Even then, it is draped in effects that lend a dark, dreamy, almost surreal sound to the instrument.

Highlights from Metamorphosis

This album had me utterly entranced from the moment I clicked play. If you just turn the album on and let it go, it all blends together. I mean that in a positive sense. It only builds on the feeling of being called to a dark, mysterious, and undisturbed place. However, after a couple of listens, I can pick a couple of favorite tracks.

Hounds

I compared Cashavelly Morrison’s voice to Tori Amos before. “Hounds” really highlights the comparison. At the same time, it seems most lyrically steeped in the shadowed woods of West Virginia. There’s a hint of old mountain magic in the lyrics. When she sings about personal cures and territory lines, it brings to mind rootworkers in the hills. That, laid over the modern and ethereal-sounding instrumentation makes this song one of the most haunting on the record.

Match Me

“Match Me,” opens with a riff that reminds me of the earlier days of grunge rock. That riff continues and blends with the synth and drums to create a driving yet dreamy backdrop for Cashavelly Morrison’s voice.

Lyrically, it’s kind of a love song. However, it’s not all hearts and rainbows. Instead, it’s a demand for vulnerability from the other half of the relationship. At the same time, it’s a celebration of the strength one can find in vulnerability. The line, “Show me your weakness and you’ll be stronger,” really brings that side of the message to a fine point.

There’s also a tantalizing dark sensuality to “Match Me.” Some of the lyrics are laced with double entendres that lend a more carnal subtext. Much like many relationships, it starts with the physical and unfurls into the deeply emotional. That is, however, just my interpretation.

Should You Check out Metamorphosis by Cashavelly Morrison?

The short answer to that is yes. Yes, you should. Metamorphosis is packed with emotional and poetic writing. Morrison’s voice is stellar and her band lays the perfect backdrop for it. If you need something slow, dark, and dreamy this album is definitely for you.

Check it out on Spotify. If you’d rather have a physical copy, you can grab the double LP vinyl or a CD from Morrison’s website.