Growing up in New York, USA’s creative scene and drawing inspiration from movements such as the ’90s Riot Grrrl sound, Morgan Swihart creates music like no other.
By Graeme Smith
Morgan has been playing music since her school days, once performing at the age of ten for a band called Bad Coffee. Her early introduction into the New York cultural world has given her plenty of time to absorb its diversity, giving her own sound a distinctively diverse flavour, bringing together alternative rock with folk, ambient and electronica.
She spent time studying under Alden Harris-McCoy and became inspired by the work of Kathleen Hanna’s Riot Grrl movement and Pat Benatar. Currently, she’s studying at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. Her latest album follows her 2023 debut The Grave and her six-track EP Haunt Me.
Broken Ceilings is eight tracks that will grab you by the heart and not let go. The emotional journey starts with a short but intense Intro where Morgan shows us her emotional vocals and penchant for big rock riffs. It bleeds into the brooding and melancholic I Just Wanna Go before we arrive at the album’s title track, Broken Ceilings. It proves a defiant highlight, rich with experimentation in its composition while drawing on some timeless influences. Morgan’s vocals shine in the verse.
From there we arrive at the folksy and lilting Comfort, the pleading Sharp Objects and the pacy, poetic Tamed. Its astute and self-reflective song-writing makes it another highlight.
Ghost is suitably haunting before The Way It Panned Out closes the album with a finale that’s rich with a tense and urgent energy that spills into a sense of catharsis in the chorus.
With the release of her latest album, Morgan Swihart is demanding attention, and it’s thoroughly deserved. She’s poured a lot of herself into this record, resulting a sympathetic collection that’s backed by a rich and cinematic rock sound.
Featuring on Broken Ceilings are Pat Gerasia on drums and Mark Solomich on bass. Mixing, engineering and co-production comes from Albert Difiore and mastering by Grammy winner Justin Shturtz. The album is out now and you can check it out below.
