Glenn Morrow’s Cry for Help are releasing their sophomore effort, 2, on the Rhyme & Reason label December 18, 2020. It’s being released via digital download and through streaming platforms.
Like many music makers in the current climate, Glenn Morrow and his band Cry For Help needed to find a way forward for their follow-up to their warmly received 2017 debut album. The Bar/None Records owner and his band of indie alumni had an album recorded and ready for release just as a pandemic brought the world to a halt. How to put out an album when physical record stores are struggling, live shows are almost non-existent and the amount of noise on the internet makes it hard to promote at all?
With an excess of hope and new context for considering the songs, Glenn Morrow’s Cry for Help thrusts their sophomore album ‘Two’ into the digital world. Lead single “The Other Side of the Dream,” newly remixed by Glenn’s old friend Chris Stamey of The dB’s and featuring backing vocals by talented North Carolina songwriter Rachel Keil, introduces the record with hints of the influences to expect throughout: ‘60s AM radio, power pop, ‘70s glam-leaning rock.
It’s an album of hook filled rock ‘n’ roll songs with the bandmates—drummer Ron Metz, bassist Mike Rosenberg, and lead guitarist Ric Sherman—all music industry lifers, adding doses of the post-punk and new wave they were surrounded by as they made their first marks on the music world in the ‘80s scenes of Hoboken and New York City. Produced by Ray Ketchem (Guided By Voices, Luna, Elk City) at the Magic Door in Montclair, New Jersey, it all has a refreshing and welcoming modern shine.
‘Two’ finds Morrow contemplating the current cultural climate with many tracks clearly influenced by the Trump era. “Yellowed Pages” delivers a cryptic message of isolation, bemoaning the lost intimacy of one on one communication that’s left “landlines dead as poetry” even prior to zoom calls. “The Ride” speaks to racial harmony while noting that Martin Luther King Blvd. and JFK Blvd. do not intersect in Jersey City despite the fact that one runs East/West and the other North/South. “The Sun the Moon and the Scars” provides some humor as Morrow imagines Proud Boys and Antifa facing off against each other: “you can punch your brother in the face or spray him with a can of mace but you still call him bro / he got no particular place to go.” In the end, whether we always like it or not we still all live here. Hence, we kinda have to live together. Perhaps there’s a song or two on ‘Two’ we can all gather round.
About Glenn Morrow’s Cry For Help
Glenn Morrow’s Cry For Help was built on the remnants of the Hoboken music scene that centered around the beloved music venue Maxwell’s and fostered indie rock greats like Yo La Tengo, The Feelies, and The dB’s (all of which have released music via Morrow’s Bar/None Records). After performing on Maxwell’s closing night with The Individuals and “a”, his two previous bands from 1977-1983, Morrow suddenly had the music bug again. Calling on drummer Ron Metz, bassist Mike Rosenberg, and guitarist Ric Sherman, Glenn Morrow’s Cry For Help was soon gigging all over New Jersey and NYC. A self-titled debut came in 2017 with NPR noting “Morrow has never unplugged from the rock 'n' roll current crackling through his bloodstream, and his new material makes that apparent. He's bringing as much energy and
creativity to the table as ever but adding the kind of gravitas only maturity can supply.” That album leaned into blues and roots with nods to the spirit of Alex Chilton. On sophomore album ‘Two,’ the band has returned with the same taste for classics and a slight bent toward darker yet catchier material.
Morrow has been running the Bar/None Records label since 1986, after it released music from his band Rage To Live and has managed to keep the label afloat through decades and this difficult modern era.
“The music business has been hit with so much this year,” said Morrow. “The collapse of the physical music industry, the closing of record stores and pressing plants, a key chemical facility burning to the ground. Still there were bright spots. Bandcamp took off and consumers really embraced acts they liked on that platform. Mail order picked up and after a while record stores have re-opened with multiple record store days. Bands held shows online and in parking lots. TikTok is creating new viral streams. We are finding ways to innovate.”
Whether behind the scenes or in front of the band, Morrow still seems to have plenty more to offer.
credits
released December 17, 2020
Glenn Morrow-Vox, Guitar
Ron Metz-Drums
Mike Rosenberg-Bass, Vox
Ric Sherman-Guitar, Vox
Special Guests
Andy Burton-Piano, Organ, Synthesizer
Ray Ketchem-Percussion, Vocals
Produced and Engineered By Ray Ketchem at Magic Door Recording, Montclair, NJ
Thanks Emmy Black and Ann Marie Scuderie at Rhyme & Reason Records
Special thanks to our fans, friends, and all the bands we've played with.
The indie pop on Songs From Another Life sounds confident yet delicate, and the strummy and jangly guitars makes me long for spring. Some songs sound like straight up Teenage Fanclub worship, but in a good way. Fans of The Byrds and Big Star will probably dig this as well. Niek || Add To Wantlist
Effortlessly juggling mood without slowing down or stopping to question themselves, the Singaporean band give new life to an age-old indie ethos. Bandcamp Album of the Day Mar 16, 2021
Wonderful little EP. Most of these songs would have fit beautifully on Luna's most recent LP. "California Blue", in particular, is magnificent. phil obbard