Alastair Galbraith, Morse (side A)

It's easy to group Alastair Galbraith's solo songwriter albums of the 90s under a simple description of "introspective', and their are a lot of similarities between these albums.  Listening back to his first solo album (not counting 1990's never-reissued Hurry on Down cassette), 1991's Morse often conveys emotions more overtly and directly than the albums, like Talisman and Mirrorwork, that followed it.  Drums make an occasional appearance, and many of the electric guitars are often distorted, but the most frequent source of Morse's emotional accessibility is the rhythm guitars, which explicitly welcome the listener with energy and structure.  Galbraith's lead vocals reference his background in Plagal Grind, with a rock-like expressive style that would appear less frequently on his later albums.  Galbraith's melodies on Morse are quite pretty too — despite the rough recordings and odd arrangements, an accessible side peaks through.  The cover's blurry photo of the simple recording setup emphasizes Morse's raw and lo-fi side, which may have felt appropriate at the time, but 20+ years later, the image feels more jarring than the music inside.