Ed O'Brien: Blue Morpho

What begins as a simple acoustic guitar track reminiscent of Nick Drake quickly morphs (unavoidable pun) into a world that let's the listener know that Ed O'Brien has spent time in a band with some of the best songwriters and instrumentalists on the planet, and that he has been paying attention the whole time. It also makes clear that his contributions to Radiohead are significant.

I really enjoyed Ed's 2020 release, Earth, so I hit play the moment I saw his latest release, Blue Morpho, on the streaming services. By the start of the second track "Blue Morpho," I wanted to put the headphones on, and by the third, I wanted to be in the car driving on a two lane road through the country. Each of the seven tracks connects the listener to the next, making for a listening journey.

The writing for Blue Morpho began during a period of depression amidst the Covid lockdown, and was also influenced by O'Brien's use of psychedelic mushrooms, the Welsh countryside, the teachings of Dutch athlete Wim Hof. The album was recorded with instruments tuned to A 432 Hz, instead of the standard concert pitch of A 440 Hz.

The Nick Drake thread continues throughout, with "Blue Morpho" having wisps of Drake's "Parasite," which ironically, was also borrowed by Radiohead to some degree on OK Computer's "Subterranean Homesick Alien." The tones are all thoughtful, specific to each track's unique universe, and there is plenty of great textural material to complement the songs, and make for a great headphone experience. There are ambient thought reflection pieces, and there are funky grooves. There are sweeping cinematic tracks, and there are intimate and lonely acoustic tracks. The low end is worth noting on Blue Morpho, as is the strategic use of saturation and distortion. I especially like the treatments on the flutes.

The general mood of Blue Morpho is melancholy and truly dark at times, but there are glimmers of light that keep me from wanting to drive off a cliff on my country drive. Much of the album feels like you are traveling through a psychedelic landscape, wrapped in sound and swirling visuals, but Blue Morpho's journey ultimately takes you towards the light.

The album was recorded at O'Brien's studio in Wales and Church Studio in London. Produced by Paul Epworth and Riley MacIntyre, who also handled engineering duties. Ben Baptie masterfully [Tape Op #147 ] mixed the record, and it was mastered by Joe LaPorta. The fantastic string arrangements were done by Tõnu Kõrvits and Dave Okumu.