HOME FOR MISFITS is the new upcoming release from Americana singer/songwriter Kaz Murphy, produced by Rich McCulley and Murphy, with eleven original songs. Murphy has been stirring the pot of the rich Los Angeles roots rock scene for the last two years, and what has emerged is the best of this prolific singer-songwriter to date. Kaz reaches across the pop/country divide — weaned on Dylan, Cash, Bobby Gentry and Leadbelly he went alt-country but with Misfits has crossed back to his Lovin’ Spoonful/Simon & Garfunkel/Mamas and the Papas roots. With a voice as distinct as Petty, Prine, David Byrne or Dylan, Murphy has coined an album with a classic rock mood – and a current pop/Latin edge — that McCulley has dubbed the “easy listening Kaz” sound. From the wealth of talent that is the LA music scene, Home for Misfits features the performances of Murphy’s long-time band members Brian Young (Fountains of Wayne, etc.), John Skibic and Sully Sullivan (Twilight Singers etc.), and wife Jacqueline Grad, along with McCulley, Amy Farris, Kip Boardman, John McDuffie and Duane Jarvis.

The songs on Home for Misfits depict emotions, imagery and stories of ordinary people gone awry and genuinely examines, through carefully taken long-shots and close-ups, the misfit that lingers in all of us. In “Waiting on Elvis“ a guy waits for his old girlfriend who’s running to him from an abusive marriage. She finally arrives on the train, “You run your hands across my face, across the years you slowly trace, as you tear everything outta your suitcase and we’re stuck here in this embrace”… “Below The Skin” features Amy Farris on strings and Duane Jarvis on Spanish Requinto guitar, about the Koreatown section of LA when the new kid in town becomes chump change on the street, “Stuck in Koreatown, like a chicken on a spit…” The psychedelic sound and tribal rhythms via Brian Young in “Brimstone Daddy” deliver a hypnotic ode to the wild daughter of a Bible-thumping preacher. One of the more rocking numbers, “Killing Wheel” laments a family’s daughter off to Iraq; with a Ramones-esque punch and straight-faced story it hits you right where it counts. Plus it has a classic pedal steel performance by John McDuffie. If Neil Diamond collaborated with Dylan, they might come up with “Honey was that You?”, “Time just passes like molasses… poured so thick that you can’t see through… Honey, was that you?...” “Been Away Awhile“, full of over-the-top harmonies and orchestration recalls America or early Costello, “I’ve been away awhile, but I’m coming back again, with my pie hole and my pen, and gonna do it all again…” A misfit finally discovers a way out in “Psychic on Your Telephone”, with a boot-kickin’ groove and Murphy’s talk-sing approach, this one sticks to you like liquid nails.

Each song, unique in itself, works well off of the others and it’s these special elements that add up to a mature work by a man with vision whose voice is as original as any of the greats named above. The sound and style is big and rich, yet simple and straight up. So order Home For Misfits – take it home, begin your favorite relaxation method, put it on, turn it up a touch, close your eyes and let this album sweep you away. If you ask someone to listen to it with you, there’s an extra bonus — you can dance to it all the way through.

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