Review Text
2012 release, the second drum and voice album from Neal Morgan (Joanna Newsom/Bill Callahan). in the Yard finds the writer at the drum kit considering home, wandering his neighborhood to know and become known, calling out villains from his youth, swimming on tour, reaching out to loved ones and paying homage to the painter Philip Guston. The album extends Neal's commitment to composing exclusively with drumming and singing. The voice turns polyphonic as chordal configurations of rhythmic punctuations flutter alive above the din and harmonic layers form broad strokes of color, weaving and swimming, expanding outward above the drums.
