Julian Morris, the songwriter behind Portland, OR’s Layperson, has just released new album Massive Leaning as a co-release between Lung Records + Bud Tapes. The album takes on grief through storytelling. In the aftermath of the most significant break-up of his life, Morris examines his world and finds a “spiritual rebirth and an emergence of a new path forward.”
He says about the four year period leading up to the album:
Loneliness is not necessarily joyless. It’s part of what makes us connected to other people. We get lonely in the way we get hungry or thirsty. I think it was not a mistake that life presented me with those experiences.
The record is a follow-up to Morris’ 2019 release The Divide, which, while allowing him to discover his new voice as a trans man post-transition, also explored “the challenges and sacrifices of the long-term relationship that would eventually end.”
Julian Morris first began writing songs in Portland while in college, playing in several bands including the trio Little Star. He shifted into pursuing his solo project as Layperson in 2017. A multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer, he recorded and played on the bulk of Massive Leaning from home, with additional recording and mixing by Kevin Christopher at Heavy Meadow Sound in Portland, OR.
The record also features Barra Brown and Steven Skolnik on drums, Sam Wenc and Alex Fermanis on pedal steel, and Tyler Neidermayer on clarinet. It was mastered by Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone at Sterling Sound in New Jersey.
