By Paul T. Mueller
— Gurf Morlix Finds the Present Tense is “the feel-good album of the year.” That’s how the Austin-based singer-songwriter described his latest CD during a recent in-store performance in Houston. He was kidding, of course. A better description of his outlook can be found in “Lookin’ for You,” the second track: “You know I like it/Dark and hot/Torn and twisted/Tied in a knot.” Such are the conditions many of Morlix’s characters seem to find themselves in.
“My Life’s Been Taken” is the lament of a man paying a high price for a bad decision, while “Series of Closin’ Doors” could well describe the process that leads to such a decision. The foreboding organ that dominates another track, “Present Tense,” is echoed by the lyrics – “I’m feeling heavy vibrations/Find the present tense.”
Morlix deals mostly with personal matters, but political commentary makes an appearance in “Bang Bang Bang,” an indictment of America’s gun culture that includes a reference to his old friend Blaze Foley, an underrated singer-songwriter who was shot to death during an argument in 1989. The song’s bouncy tone can’t disguise Morlix’s pain over Foley’s death – “Shot down, gone away/Gone forever, miss him every day” – or his outrage at the violence that led to it. “Guns in backpacks, guns in schools/We’re a bunch of gun-carryin’ fools,” he concludes.
It’s back to the darkly personal in the CD’s final three songs. Morlix’s raspy voice and a twangy country arrangement are perfectly suited to the raw pain of “You Walk Away,” in which he asks, “All these years, don’t they count for nothin’?/Don’t you remember our last kiss?” “These Are My Blues” finds the narrator a little farther down the road, still hurting and not in any big hurry to feel better. The CD wraps up with “Empty Cup,” a plea for the love that proves so elusive. “I’m a simple man, I can’t decipher your clues,” Morlix sings. “All I know is, I can’t live without you.”
Morlix’s songs are well served by his understated production, and by the strong contributions of backing musicians including drummer Rick Richards, keyboardist Ian McLagan, violinist Gene Elders, and singer Eliza Gilkyson, among others.
Having worked with Lucinda Williams, Robert Earl Keen and many others over the years, Morlix is probably better known as a sideman and producer than as a solo artist. But he’s got his own story to tell, and he does a pretty good job of it on this collection. It’s not a very uplifting message, but it’s worth a listen.
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