LACHLAN X. Morris jokes he's angry at his friends for not steering him towards the music of Teenage Fanclub earlier.
The Newcastle artist's recent discovery of the Scottish indie band, which enjoyed their heyday in the '90s with the albums Bandwagonesque and Grand Prix, has been a "revelation."
Teenage Fanclub's blend of west coast '60s melodies and '90s alt-rock guitar riffs is clearly heard in Morris' fourth album Muscle Memory, released last week.
"I hadn't really crossed paths with them, which is funny how a band can be so huge and every band is a search away on Spotify," Morris said. "Nobody had ever mentioned them to me.
"I stumbled across them through a mate of mine and ended up digging through literally all their stuff and connected with their ethos of pop songs, but in a rock'n'roll kind of way.
"I guess it's called power pop. I just found them to do it in a tangible and really digestible way. I really loved it and took heaps of inspiration."
Morris is arguably Newcastle's most prolific songwriter, knocking out the albums Ouija Board Heartbreak Tambourine, Premeditations and Mood Bullet, plus several singles, since 2017.
Muscle Memory is his most polished and accessible record yet, with tracks like Super Moon and Afterglow displaying a songwriter playing to his melodic strengths.
"I think I'm finding a place where I'm really enjoying it at the moment," he said. "It's really exciting me to write in this capacity."
Muscle Memory was recorded in three separate sessions between April and June at Rock The Nation in Mayfield West before it was mixed by producer and drummer Fraser Marshall.
Rather than complete the songs and rehearse them prior to recording, Morris entered RTN with only a series of half-baked ideas. It led to a more organic outcome.
"I just didn't want it to lose the magic planning it out," he said. "It turned out pretty much how I wanted it, without knowing what that was."
Lachlan X. Morris plays the Stag & Hunter Hotel on Friday and the Grand Junction Hotel on December 31.
