Music-lovers are in for a treat today, with Byron Bay’s Moreton releasing ‘See Yourself’ today, a duet with world-renowned Irish singer James Vincent McMorrow.
Having risen to fame over the last few years, the alt-rock four piece came to the attention of McMorrow a few years back, eventually accompanying him on his Aussie tour.
Fast-forward a few years, and with Moreton gearing up to release their The Dog Years EP later 2019, they’ve given fans a new treat with the release of the gorgeous duet ‘See Yourself’ today.
A heart-wrenching guitar ballad that harks back to the likes of The National and Elliott Smith, the tune’s gorgeous vocals are tied together with some stunning synthesisers, turning an exceptionally-written tune into a true treat for the senses.
“James found our music on Spotify at random a couple of years ago and that coincided with him coming to Australia for a tour and he asked us to join him on the road,” Moreton explain of the tune.
“The recording is actually our first take in the studio, and James recorded his vocals in Dublin. The song is about that point in a new relationship when your less-than-perfect self, shows up for the first time.”
Now, with ‘See Yourself’ officially being shared with the world, Moreton’s Georgia Potter has taken the time to offer up her opinion on five of the most under-appreciated, and most beautiful, duets in music history.
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‘See Yourself’ is out now. Check it out below, and keep reading for Moreton’s list of the five most beautiful duets.
Check out ‘See Yourself’ by Moreton, featuring James Vincent McMorrow:
Top 5 Most Beautiful Duets… by Moreton
A good duet can pluck at the heartstrings of even the most cynical music lover. There’s just somethin’ about two voices coming together and sharing a sentiment that gets us by the guts every time.
So with the release of our ballad with the hearty James Vincent McMorrow, here are five of our favourite duets. Steering clear of the classics, the obvious, and the vomitous, our list includes a few collaborations that might have gone under your radar, as far as duets are concerned.
1. PJ Harvey & Thom Yorke – ‘This Mess We’re In’
Georgia’s two favourite artists on earth. If you made PJ Harvey and Thom Yorke run at each other so they implode into one person, that’s basically what we’ll always be striving to sound like.
And we’ll always fail, because nobody could ever be as good as these two, but it’s a worthy pursuit nonetheless.
This song is so effortlessly cool, none of the shiny bells and whistles, peak and troughs that duets usually include. Just Thom’s slippery voice and PJ’s easy vibe, and the most relaxed, understated ‘call and response’ and final chorus in the history of duets. Our heroes.
Check out ‘This Mess We’re In’ by PJ Harvey & Thom Yorke:
2. Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue – ‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’
I still meet people who don’t know this happened, and I could basically copy and paste the same sentiment from the song above, only there’s plenty of bells and whistles here – soaring strings, swaying 6/8 rhythms, dense with romantic imagery.
And their vocal delivery is all theatre, Kylie with her Monroe-inspired whisper and Nick, always singing like a grand orator. Yummmmm.
Check out ‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’ by Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue:
3. Donny Hathaway & Roberta Flack – ‘You’ve Got A Friend’
A true classic, this entry is from our drummer Myka. Don your headphones and let the vibrato on those keys wobble your skull in the warmest, sweetest way with this beautiful song about friendship.
It made me cry when Myka sent it to me, cause Myk and I have been friends for such a long time and just recently had the need to be there for each other through some tough times we were both going to.
Whenever something’s going wrong at a show or in the studio, I always go to Myka. It’s so special to make music with a friend you love this much, and now this song will always remind me of Myka, my bestest buddy and the bestest drummer.
Check out ‘You’ve Got A Friend’ by Donny Hathaway & Roberta Flack:
4. Marlon Williams & Aldous Harding – ‘Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore’
Something current! From the latest Marlon Williams album. Fuck I’ll never forget my first listen through – tears were shed and the heart was lifted. When that Beatles-esque drum feel that brings in the band, you could think it’s about to turn into ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’.
I love putting on this song when I’m already feeling melancholy and just leaning into it and wallowing. Their voices are so haunting, from another world and another era.
Funny story, a couple of New Year’s Eves ago, I sang backing vocals for a friend’s band at a festival. As we approached midnight, the party medley started which happened to include me backing up some Missy Elliott raps, and just as I started the back-up raps with my glittery eye-shadow on, I looked down to see Marlon Williams and Aldous Harding watching and dancing, and laughing.
I just wanted to stop the music and say, “No no I’m a folk singer,” and flawlessly recite ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’, but I just embraced it, shook my ass and rapped about eating pussy instead.
I met Marlon a few months later at Panama and he was real nice about it, he even said I was good, which is actually true because rapping is one of my secret talents. I could have easily listed ‘Let Me Blow Your Mind’ by Eve and Gwen Stefani here instead. E-V-E forever!
Check out ‘Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore’ by Marlon Williams & Aldous Harding:
5. Hope Sandoval & Kurt Vile – ‘Let Me Get There’
A future classic! I’m a huge Kurt Vile fan – his humble deadpan delivery is so endearing. He’s like the high school reject that became cool because he got so damn good. I can say that cause I’m a high school reject too. And it’s how I found Hope Sandoval (of Mazzy Star’s) solo albums, which I’d somehow missed! Too busy learning the raps from Blakroc.
Hope’s albums are so full of perfectly flawed artefacts and innocent playfulness. Their duet feels retro without feeling revivalist, and Kurt always finds the best ways to be showy on guitar without being annoying and macho.
He’s one of my favourite American rock guitarists for sure. I’ll never try to play like that, but damn he does it well. Honourable mentions for other current duets also have to go to Alex Cameron & Angel Olsen, and of course, Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile.
Check out ‘Let Me Get There’ by Hope Sandoval & Kurt Vile:
