Moving from the low rounded hills of Ontario to Music City, songstress Karen Morand developed a passion for Motown and Southern soul music.
Morand has been creating easy on the ears singer-songwriter music for many years, but decided to combine her efforts with accompanying trio BOSCO made up of Aaron Verhulst, Benny Santoro, and Brett Humber. Shortly after, Karen Morand and the Bosco Boys was born.
After putting out four acclaimed singles in 2021, Morand and her trio’s debut LP, Ghost Hotel, is mere hours away from being available to the masses.
The album tells the group’s stories of “identity, longing, loneliness, and addiction with a hopeful eye toward the unseen.” Morand taps into the stylings of Tedeschi Trucks, as well as developing a Southern rock and Motown influence within the group.
The group’s first single, “Never Enough,” highlights Morand’s soulful singing and the group’s Southern soul and rock influence. In this debut single, Morand tells a story of lost love and how her love isn’t “never enough” for her partner. Her lyricism is a treat on this track, with a favorite line being, “Do you hear me begging you to stay / When the day has got the best part of you?” The instrumentation in “Never Enough” is influenced by the musical breakdowns that take place in Tedeschi Trucks tracks such as “Midnight in Harlem”.
In the second single, “Easy”, Morand writes about feelings of letting go of inhibitions and taking things easy. This happy-go-lucky summer road trip song is made possible by the instrumental efforts of The Bosco Boys and special guests Mike Stevens on harmonica and Max Marshall on bass. She uses lyrical imagery to discuss her time spent on the Detroit River.
In their most recent release, “Beautiful Scars”, Morand and the Boys tap into their Southern rock inspirations a bit more. Her soulful singing is accompanied by vocalist Suzie Vinnick; their voices together in rich harmony conveys the track’s message of togetherness, self-acceptance, and finding beauty in all broken things. The band’s gravelly Southern rock instrumentation in this track is strong, while still highlighting the empowering anthem like lyrics of the song.
These singles and more will be available on Ghost Hotel, which will be available for streaming and purchase tomorrow, February 1st.
