More Light!!, by Michael Cormier-O'Leary

More Light!!

by Michael Cormier-O'Leary

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pressed by Softwax in Philadelphia, PA on black vinyl, liner notes by Hugh Wilikofsky, plus lyric insert. Only 100 pressed

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design by Jon Samuels, eco-wallet lite packaging, liner notes by Hugh Wilikofsky

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design by Michael Cormier, goldenrod tape with lilac ink, printed by National Audio Company

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Full Digital Discography

6

releases

Get all 6 Michael Cormier-O'Leary releases available on Bandcamp.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Anything Can Be Left Behind, Heard From The Next Room, More Light!!, Brief Hold: Instrumentals Vol. 1, M-F, and Days Like Pearls. , and , .

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1.	Degradation 03:56 video	buy track
2.	Last Hurrah 03:45 video	buy track
3.	Call Declined 02:55	buy track
4.	Buggin' 02:47	buy track
5.	Control 03:27	buy track
6.	More Light! 03:02	buy track
7.	Yellow Sadness 03:08	buy track
8.	When You Pass Through 03:36	buy track
9.	I'll Stay On The Line 02:26	buy track
10.	Empty Mugs 03:42	buy track

about

When he isn’t drumming in Friendship, writing songs with Hour, co-running the prolific indie label Dear Life Records or working as a bread baker, Maine-raised, Philadelphia-based multi-instrumentalist Michael Cormier is ruminating on the miniscule moments that make up the bones of our reality. Moulding these moments into modern folk tales, Cormier is an artist that likes to peel back the plastic sheen of inauthenticity to tell stories that are texturally veridical and genuinely moving. While 2019 debut solo albums Days Like Pearls and M-F introduced us to Cormier as a visceral, vulnerable artist, new album More Light!! sees Cormier build upon these foundations with an earnestly relatable and empathetic eye.

Primarily describing himself as an instrumentalist, Cormier evokes our collective anxieties and inability to focus through abrupt and unpredictable chord changes, twisting major and minor keys in coexistence. These combinations, teamed with catchy and indelible melodies, offer an unexpected expedition through Cormier’s world. It’s a practise that mimics our relationship with our phones: sporadic keys, scattered field recordings and sharp, electronic landscapes mimic the draining, superfluous nature of social media while brooding strings, lethargic drums and serene harmonies embody the apathetic aftermath.

Lyrically speaking, More Light!! deals with darker source material than his previous records, but Cormier is keen to stress the catharsis that comes with reconfiguring these kinds of feelings. Inspired by the diaristic tones of Iris DeMent and the semantic nature of Virginia Woolf, he’s an artist that strives to shun traditional structure in order to loosen his grip and widen his perception. “It feels like we can only control how we choose to notice things, like the way the light hits something,” he says. “It’s about treating our own perceptions as an artistic pursuit.”

Swirling concerns, existential thought and the pursuit of a positive, amusing outlook are interlocked throughout these songs. The gentle, country acoustics of “Buggin’” shares the bubbling panic of keeping on top of texts and being unable to feel as deeply as his dog; “Control” provides the perfect metaphor of pants caught in a moving escalator, while “Last Hurrah” creates a bittersweet scene of growing old. The album is nevertheless punctuated with silver linings: opener “Degradation” honours the doom of existing yet juxtaposes it with the optimism of a matchspark; the shadowy tones of “More Light!” lists the comforting nature of torches under blankets and night lights shaped like cartoon characters, while the sweet, finger-plucked closer “Empty Mugs” splashes sunlight across our face.

It’s an album that is the direct result of Cormier being able to fully focus on his artistic output. Describing it as an “open collaboration,” Cormier worked remotely with close friends including producer Lucas Knapp, Lina Tullgren, Erika Nininger, Lou Turner, Heeyoon Won, Will Henriksen, Wendy Eisenberg, Meghan O’Leary, Frank Meadows and Friendship members Dan Wriggins, Jon Samuels and Pete Gill. Allowing these artists to improvise over tracks Cormier sent from his bedroom, these songs evoke the kind of collective nature that inspires a freeing, playful honesty with ourselves and with each other. By repurposing his anxieties into a self-aware, altruistic narrative, More Light!! tells us that, despite it all, we can always lean towards the transcendent and the overtly beautiful.

-Sammy Maine

credits

released June 25, 2021

produced by Michael Cormier and Lucas Knapp

Personnel:
Michael Cormier
Lucas Knapp
Lina Tullgren
Erika Nininger
Lou Turner
Pete Gill
Heeyoon Won
Will Henriksen
Wendy Eisenberg
Frank Meadows
Jon Samuels
Meghan O’Leary
Dan Wriggins

All songs by Michael Cormier (BMI)
Recorded by Michael Cormier in his home in West Philadelphia, March - August 2020.
Additional recording by Lucas Knapp, and remotely by collaborators.
Mixed by Lucas Knapp
Mastered by M Deetz

Artwork by Hayden Hall
Layout by Jon Samuels

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about

Michael Cormier-O'Leary Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

INQUIRIES: michael.cormier.oleary@gmail.com

songwriter
•
producer
•
improviser
•
drums in Friendship
•
compositions as Hour ... more

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