Albany band the Morsels chat songwriting and growing up in the south ahead of their new ‘Dog Rock’ Ep

Albany’s The Morsels are a band going from strength to strength. Formed while living together in a shared house on Middleton Road, they describe their eclectic but surprisingly cohesive genre-spanning sound as dog rock, paying homage to their south coast roots. Well known locally for their energetic live shows and gathering an underground following in the south, the Morsels have been performing their catchy sing-along-worthy tunes around Albany and WA for the past few years. Their songs combine the rock and roll of Bruce Springsteen with the surf and indie rock sensibilities of a modern audience and a sprinkle of south coast magic for good measure. From blues and country-influenced numbers about work boots and lunchboxes to anthemic indie rock singalongs like their latest single Naive Eyes, the Morsels will never fail to leave listeners humming along. Brother and sister Claudia and Jasper Leman and friend Dan Burke make up the songwriting core of the group with drummer Ben Kernaghan keeping the rhythm and driving the energy of their music. Burke said the Morsels were born out of a group of friends living together in a rundown share house. “Me and Jasper lived in an old asbestos shack together on Middleton Road with lots of mates,” he said. “Our friend Harpo made a group chat with all of us in it and was like, you should start a band. “So we got Ben and Claudia, Jasper’s sister, around and we started jamming. “We started as a cover band just playing tacky covers then during that weird little COVID era around 2021 we started writing our own music. “Now we have like 25 songs. “With three songwriters, we punch them out. “There are so many random genres, it does not really make sense, but I guess that’s why it’s fun.” With their high-energy live gigs quickly gaining them fans, the Morsels hadn’t recorded much music. “We have been jamming for fun for the last four years and we are finally doing some recording which is exciting,” Burke said. “Our songs are really singalongs, especially Claud’s songs, they are catchy as. “We all write in a different way. “Claud writes a lot about objects, she’s written a song about her car, Outback Girl, she’s written a song about her shoe, a song about her lunch, she finds something and sings around that. “Me and Jasper kind of write a little more anthemic. “I’m a little bit more into the indie rock scene than Jasper, I really enjoy that style of writing, along the lines of your Spacey Janes. “Jasper is really into the Waifs, he’s really inspired by them and inspired by a lot of country music. “We sort of come up with an idea and bring it to the band, if it turns into something we play it.” Despite the wide range of influences and genres, the Morsels’ music has a cohesive sound that is unique to them, a blend of country and bluesy riffs with an indie rock twist and anthemic choruses. Growing up in Albany and Denmark, the Morsels are a product of their environment, playing their favourite local haunts and bringing a friendly homegrown approach to their shows and music. “I grew up in Denmark but I went to school over in Albany,” Burke said. “Jasper and Clauds are from Lowlands and Ben is from Goode Beach so all of us came from around the area. “We joke about calling our music ‘dog rock’ because we cover so many genres we label it all ‘dog rock’.” The Morsels will be following the release of their three-track EP with live shows in Albany and a tour with Perth indie rock outfit Ra Ra Viper. Naive Eyes, the first track off their Dog Rock EP written by Burke, is out now on Spotify with the next track written by Claudia dropping in the near future.