via RICentral
Tyler Ramsey - For the Morning
Fantasy Records
On his latest solo release called For the Morning, former Band of Horses lead guitarist and songwriter Tyler Ramsey delivers a genre-blurring collection of expansive and dreamy roots pop. Ramsey cites the changes in his life – birth of his daughter, a retreat to the mountains outside of Asheville to lay stakes, and a general moving away from the touring grind of a musician – as providing newfound inspiration for this creative burst. Taking stock in his new surroundings plays into the overall feel of For the Morning. Like a hike in the woods, it is meditative in its many sounds, lush and languid but thankfully devoid of any overproduction to get to that place. Guitars, piano and pedal steel with Ramsey’s tenor voice gently sweep into a soundscape often as striking as his newfound views living in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Standout tracks include the luxuriant “A Dream of Home” written on an off day during a Band of Horses tour, “Breaking of a Heart” and “Evening Country” each featuring harmony vocals by Thad Cockrell and Molly Parden, and the beautifully spare “Cheap Summer Dress” featuring spot-on harmony by Joan Shelley. For the Morning is Ramsey’s first solo album since 2011’s The Valley Wind. It finds him in a good place and in a groove all unto his own.