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Before Craigslist popularized Missed Connections, there were very few ways to get the attention of the potential lover who caught your eye the night before; you had one chance to chat up that handsome stranger in the darkened bar or lose touch forever. There are few moments more salient than the electricity of first attractions, and when we don’t act on them, we’re faced with mountains of regret, asking ourselves what could’ve been.
L.A.’s Greta Morgan isn’t taking any chances. As Springtime Carnivore, she’ll release her debut LP November 4th on Aquarium Drunkard‘s Autumn Tone Records, co-produced with Richard Swift (who’s also worked with The Shins and Foxygen). Her second single from the self-titled record, “Name On A Matchbook,” is an ode to romantic first encounters, the exchanging of contact information and coy glances in anticipation of exchanging more in the future. But she’s going to make her would-be suitor work for it — in the lighthearted bridge, she coos “So long, so long… until you prove me wrong.”
The track is as breezy as it is infectious, the cheery whistling and plucky piano in the intro denote that this is a casual affair. For all her nonchalance, Morgan dabbles in cinematic flourishes, sonically referencing 1960’s girl group pop with aplomb and even a little grit. While it’s not as sassy as the guitar-oriented “Sun Went Black,” Springtime Carnivore’s first single, there’s still lots of soft psychedelic underpinnings — the slight fuzz on the vocals, for instance, amounts to the aural equivalent of smearing vaseline on a camera lens for nostalgic effect.
Morgan is a pro at the flirtatious brush-off, shrugging and singing “I’ve got your name on my matchbook” as if to say “We’ll see what happens.” But there are wistful backwards glances too. After solemnly stating “I’ll leave your books unread / your mouth unkissed / Your bed can stay all made up / Step too easily / Into a possibility” she wonders “Is it wrong that i want more?” It’s the same daring hope that made Carly Rae Jepsen’s 2012 smash hit “Call Me Maybe” so buoyant and inescapable. There’s no commitment intrinsic in that first encounter, when anything can happen, and there will never be another like it, whether someone initiates something more serious in the future or remains a random name hastily scrawled on a napkin. So the next time you’re at a bar and are suffering a loss of words in the face of unadulterated crushworthiness, take a page out of Springtime Carnivore’s playbook and start a fire.
Springtime Carnivore will be in NYC for CMJ before hitting the road with The Generationals. Tour dates below:
Thu. Oct. 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Mayan w/ Of Montreal
Fri. Oct. 24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade (Aquarium Drunkard showcase – CMJ)
Sat. Oct. 25 – New York, NY @ Pianos (Bowery Presents Day Party – CMJ)
Sat. Oct. 25 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom w/ Sam Roberts Band, Water Liars, Dilly Dally (CMJ)
Tue. Oct. 28 – Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar w/ Generationals
Wed. Oct. 29 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop w/ Generationals
Thu. Oct. 30 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall w/ Generationals
Sat. Nov. 1 – Madison, WI @ Freakfest
Sun. Nov. 2 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave & 7th Entry w/ Generationals
Wed. Nov. 12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour w/ Generationals
Thu. Nov. 13 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel w/ Generationals
Sat. Nov. 15 – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile w/ Generationals
Sun. Nov. 16 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge w/ Generationals
Mon. Nov. 17 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret w/ Generationals[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
