Tallahassee, FL singer-songwriter Sarah Morrison’s debut studio album Attachment Figure depicts the strangeness of exploring new relationships with subtle and spacious electronic production. As a former live keyboardist in Locate S,1, Morrison co-produced Attachment Figure with fellow bandmates Ross Brand and Clayton Rychlik, both of whom also play in Of Montreal's backing band. She was motivated to experiment with looser song structures and more unconventional chord progressions by her collaborators’ fondness for avant-garde jazz, as well as Locate S,1 frontwoman Christina Schneider’s idiosyncratic writing style. Throughout the album, echoing keys, woodwinds, and guitar ripple like a moonlit lake from which Morrison’s voice emerges. Her presence is spectral, yet conversational, willing to conjure concrete imagery of mango-flavored vitamins and the warmth of phone chargers alongside ghost stories of mannequin corpses and epistolary curses, a balance shaped by an obsession with the theatrical sincerity of Kate Bush and Mark Hollis. Lyrically, Attachment Figure meditates on questions about identity, personal growth, and helplessness – whether within a relationship or the oppressive structures of society itself – often rooted in Morrison’s experiences growing up in the South. “There’s a connection between Southern hospitality and femininity and just allowing things to happen,” Morrison says. "I've been in many relationships with people who have used that 'southern charm' to their advantage. I think a lot of people, non-men in particular, put on this charm instinctively. It's a defense mechanism that I was interested in studying." Attachment Figure is perpetually suspended between states of being, harmony and dissonance, and contradictory sentiments we all hold as we enter into the arms of someone new, but ultimately, it’s guided by a desire for authentic love—and a flair for intricate, intuitive songcraft.
