Irish folk singer-songwriter James Vincent McMorrow began as a drummer drawn to the harsher sounds of bands such as At the Drive-In, Refused, and Glassjaw. His sound today is a mellower, more paired-down, acoustic blend of his broad musical tastes.
~~~~~~~~
Irish singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, James Vincent McMorrow, returns with the announcement of his seventh full-length album Wide Open, Horses. The album marks his first release on Nettwerk Music Group and is due out 14th June.
James has beckoned listeners to open their minds and hearts since his emergence in 2010. Along the way, he gathered over 1 billion streams across an expansive catalog. Among many standouts, "Higher Love" went BPI Gold in the UK and ARIA platinum in Australia. His cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" soundtracked the trailer for Season Six of HBO's Game of Thrones and generated over 130 million Spotify streams on its Live At Killkenny Arts Festival version. Toppling charts, 2016's We Move notably debuted at #1 in Ireland. At the same time, he lent his voice to "Hype" from Drake's multiplatinum blockbuster Views, "I'm In Love" from Kygo's Cloud Nine, and "Run Away" from dvsn's Morning After, among others. 2022's surprise album The Less I Knew arrived to critical acclaim as Variance attested, "It makes for the perfect listen in the midst of these complicated times, brimming with emotion and candidly confronting struggle while also looking to a brighter day." Meanwhile, he's sold-out tours on multiple continents, even packing the world-famous Sydney Opera House twice.
In 2023, he brought Wide Open, Horses to life--on stage. He booked two nights at The National Concert Hall in Dublin, recorded a handful of lo-fi demos, practiced the material for a week, and then hit the stage. Phones weren't allowed, but James recorded it to "see what worked and what didn't work."
"I literally performed the album before it was recorded," he smiles. "The whole point was to expose the flaws and also highlight the special little moments. It was an odd experiment, but it worked great. The notion is so simple, 'Write songs and perform them live'. Without cameras, they were the best shows I've ever played--which is interesting because no one knew the music! Everyone was just experiencing it though. I had friends in the lobby talking to strangers. Who talks to strangers anymore? It was lovely. It was a heartening experience for everyone involved."
Galvanized by this energy, he hit the studio and assembled Wide Open, Horses. The opener and single "Never Gone" hinges on finger-picked guitar, soft tambourine, and steady handclaps as he wonders, "Cuz what the fuck are any of us really doing here? Do we even exist at all?"
"It's the anchor of the record," he notes. "It sums up the whole album; you're just trying to fight meaninglessness. I always felt like I've been trying to find meaning so I could be remembered. When you don't find it, it doesn't feel good. I got to a point where I was like, 'I fucking love this. I don't care. If my friends, family, and people who know me as a musician love it, then I'm happy'. I regretted missing so many beautiful moments, because I'd get off stage like, 'What's the next opportunity?' I've come to terms with the fact that when I die, I'll be forgotten, and it's okay. We all will. It felt ridiculous to fight it. Embracing it was very freeing. 'Never Gone' is just about appreciating what's here for you in the moment.
~~~~~~~~
On a pecan farm half a mile from the Mexican border, Post Tropical was born - a collection of sounds and ideas brought to life in rooms where the low frequencies of passing freight trains vibrated in the studio, briefly disturbing the birds in the rafters. And like most new ideas, Post Tropical is hard to describe. It requires attention and engagement. It seduces you towards hidden depths.
McMorrow's acclaimed debut album, Early in the Morning, reached number 1, went platinum and picked up a Choice Music Prize nomination upon its release in 2010. Along the way, there were shows everywhere from the Royal Festival Hall to Later... with Jools Holland, and a breakout hit in the charity cover of Steve Winwood's "Higher Love." McMorrow's first record was the formative sounds of a songwriter who suddenly found people giving a damn. "I'm so proud of that album, but I never longed to be a guy with a guitar. You play these songs live as best you can, and suddenly you're a Folk musician. But the texture of this record is completely different. This is the kind of stuff I actually listen to."Wiping the palate of Early in the Morning clean, Post Tropical is a stunning piece of work. Its broadened horizons may come as a surprise to everyone but James and the people who know him best. "I found a zip drive recently, which dates back to before I made my first record, and I'd re-recorded every single part of the N.E.R.D album - apart from the vocals - just for the joy of it. I wanted to give this record the feel and movement of the hip-hop records that I love."It's a step forward that is immediately apparent on album opener and first single "Cavalier" - a brooding twist on the Slow-Jam, which builds quietly from hushed keys and hand-claps to soaring brass, drums and McMorrow's idiosyncratic falsetto. Across the album, new sounds and textures are explored: 808s on the haunting "Red Dust," looped piano on "Look Out," and the waterfall-effect of 12 mandolins on "The Lakes." McMorrow's sometimes-surreal songwriting holds each element in place, on album which he wrote, produced, and played virtually every instrument.
The framework of Post Tropical was constructed over eight months. Coming home from tour, James had hundreds of sound files, none categorized. Pages and pages of lyrics were crossed out and edited. Nothing was written on guitar, and nothing was linear. Yet the recording itself took place on a pecan farm half a mile from the Mexican border - which the likes of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beach House, Animal Collective and At The Drive In have all called home at one point. The constraints of three and a half weeks here offered McMorrow a surprising amount of freedom. Sounds were created and changed and painstakingly poured over. The process was up for grabs, right up to the mixing stage.
What emerged was Post Tropical - complete with the paradoxical, "wish-you-were-here postcard" artwork (juxtaposing a palm tree with a polar bear). "It's so exhausting trying to keep up with styles of music that pop up one week, and disappear the next," says James. "For me, Post Tropical evokes a style of music without you having a clue what it sounds like. It's warm and familiar, but there's something there that's maybe not quite what you think it is. I just wanted to make the most beautiful thing that I could imagine. And that was it."
show less
~~~~~~~~
Irish singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, James Vincent McMorrow, returns with the announcement of his seventh full-length album Wide Open, Horses. The album marks his first release on Nettwerk Music Group and is due out 14th June.
James has beckoned listeners to open their minds and hearts since his emergence in 2010. Along the way, he gathered over 1 billion streams across an expansive catalog. Among many standouts, "Higher Love" went BPI Gold in the UK and ARIA platinum in Australia. His cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" soundtracked the trailer for Season Six of HBO's Game of Thrones and generated over 130 million Spotify streams on its Live At Killkenny Arts Festival version. Toppling charts, 2016's We Move notably debuted at #1 in Ireland. At the same time, he lent his voice to "Hype" from Drake's multiplatinum blockbuster Views, "I'm In Love" from Kygo's Cloud Nine, and "Run Away" from dvsn's Morning After, among others. 2022's surprise album The Less I Knew arrived to critical acclaim as Variance attested, "It makes for the perfect listen in the midst of these complicated times, brimming with emotion and candidly confronting struggle while also looking to a brighter day." Meanwhile, he's sold-out tours on multiple continents, even packing the world-famous Sydney Opera House twice.
In 2023, he brought Wide Open, Horses to life--on stage. He booked two nights at The National Concert Hall in Dublin, recorded a handful of lo-fi demos, practiced the material for a week, and then hit the stage. Phones weren't allowed, but James recorded it to "see what worked and what didn't work."
"I literally performed the album before it was recorded," he smiles. "The whole point was to expose the flaws and also highlight the special little moments. It was an odd experiment, but it worked great. The notion is so simple, 'Write songs and perform them live'. Without cameras, they were the best shows I've ever played--which is interesting because no one knew the music! Everyone was just experiencing it though. I had friends in the lobby talking to strangers. Who talks to strangers anymore? It was lovely. It was a heartening experience for everyone involved."
Galvanized by this energy, he hit the studio and assembled Wide Open, Horses. The opener and single "Never Gone" hinges on finger-picked guitar, soft tambourine, and steady handclaps as he wonders, "Cuz what the fuck are any of us really doing here? Do we even exist at all?"
"It's the anchor of the record," he notes. "It sums up the whole album; you're just trying to fight meaninglessness. I always felt like I've been trying to find meaning so I could be remembered. When you don't find it, it doesn't feel good. I got to a point where I was like, 'I fucking love this. I don't care. If my friends, family, and people who know me as a musician love it, then I'm happy'. I regretted missing so many beautiful moments, because I'd get off stage like, 'What's the next opportunity?' I've come to terms with the fact that when I die, I'll be forgotten, and it's okay. We all will. It felt ridiculous to fight it. Embracing it was very freeing. 'Never Gone' is just about appreciating what's here for you in the moment.
~~~~~~~~
On a pecan farm half a mile from the Mexican border, Post Tropical was born - a collection of sounds and ideas brought to life in rooms where the low frequencies of passing freight trains vibrated in the studio, briefly disturbing the birds in the rafters. And like most new ideas, Post Tropical is hard to describe. It requires attention and engagement. It seduces you towards hidden depths.
McMorrow's acclaimed debut album, Early in the Morning, reached number 1, went platinum and picked up a Choice Music Prize nomination upon its release in 2010. Along the way, there were shows everywhere from the Royal Festival Hall to Later... with Jools Holland, and a breakout hit in the charity cover of Steve Winwood's "Higher Love." McMorrow's first record was the formative sounds of a songwriter who suddenly found people giving a damn. "I'm so proud of that album, but I never longed to be a guy with a guitar. You play these songs live as best you can, and suddenly you're a Folk musician. But the texture of this record is completely different. This is the kind of stuff I actually listen to."Wiping the palate of Early in the Morning clean, Post Tropical is a stunning piece of work. Its broadened horizons may come as a surprise to everyone but James and the people who know him best. "I found a zip drive recently, which dates back to before I made my first record, and I'd re-recorded every single part of the N.E.R.D album - apart from the vocals - just for the joy of it. I wanted to give this record the feel and movement of the hip-hop records that I love."It's a step forward that is immediately apparent on album opener and first single "Cavalier" - a brooding twist on the Slow-Jam, which builds quietly from hushed keys and hand-claps to soaring brass, drums and McMorrow's idiosyncratic falsetto. Across the album, new sounds and textures are explored: 808s on the haunting "Red Dust," looped piano on "Look Out," and the waterfall-effect of 12 mandolins on "The Lakes." McMorrow's sometimes-surreal songwriting holds each element in place, on album which he wrote, produced, and played virtually every instrument.
The framework of Post Tropical was constructed over eight months. Coming home from tour, James had hundreds of sound files, none categorized. Pages and pages of lyrics were crossed out and edited. Nothing was written on guitar, and nothing was linear. Yet the recording itself took place on a pecan farm half a mile from the Mexican border - which the likes of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beach House, Animal Collective and At The Drive In have all called home at one point. The constraints of three and a half weeks here offered McMorrow a surprising amount of freedom. Sounds were created and changed and painstakingly poured over. The process was up for grabs, right up to the mixing stage.
What emerged was Post Tropical - complete with the paradoxical, "wish-you-were-here postcard" artwork (juxtaposing a palm tree with a polar bear). "It's so exhausting trying to keep up with styles of music that pop up one week, and disappear the next," says James. "For me, Post Tropical evokes a style of music without you having a clue what it sounds like. It's warm and familiar, but there's something there that's maybe not quite what you think it is. I just wanted to make the most beautiful thing that I could imagine. And that was it."
Irish folk singer-songwriter James Vincent McMorrow began as a drummer drawn to the harsher sounds of bands such as At the Drive-In, Refused, and Glassjaw. His sound today is a mellower, more paired-down, acoustic blend of his broad musical tastes.
~~~~~~~~
Irish singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, James Vincent McMorrow, returns with the announcement of his seventh full-length album Wide Open, Horses. The album marks his first release on Nettwerk Music Group and is due out 14th June.
James has beckoned listeners to open their minds and hearts since his emergence in 2010. Along the way, he gathered over 1 billion streams across an expansive catalog. Among many standouts, "Higher Love" went BPI Gold in the UK and ARIA platinum in Australia. His cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" soundtracked the trailer for Season Six of HBO's Game of Thrones and generated over 130 million Spotify streams on its Live At Killkenny Arts Festival version. Toppling charts, 2016's We Move notably debuted at #1 in Ireland. At the same time, he lent his voice to "Hype" from Drake's multiplatinum blockbuster Views, "I'm In Love" from Kygo's Cloud Nine, and "Run Away" from dvsn's Morning After, among others. 2022's surprise album The Less I Knew arrived to critical acclaim as Variance attested, "It makes for the perfect listen in the midst of these complicated times, brimming with emotion and candidly confronting struggle while also looking to a brighter day." Meanwhile, he's sold-out tours on multiple continents, even packing the world-famous Sydney Opera House twice.
In 2023, he brought Wide Open, Horses to life--on stage. He booked two nights at The National Concert Hall in Dublin, recorded a handful of lo-fi demos, practiced the material for a week, and then hit the stage. Phones weren't allowed, but James recorded it to "see what worked and what didn't work."
"I literally performed the album before it was recorded," he smiles. "The whole point was to expose the flaws and also highlight the special little moments. It was an odd experiment, but it worked great. The notion is so simple, 'Write songs and perform them live'. Without cameras, they were the best shows I've ever played--which is interesting because no one knew the music! Everyone was just experiencing it though. I had friends in the lobby talking to strangers. Who talks to strangers anymore? It was lovely. It was a heartening experience for everyone involved."
Galvanized by this energy, he hit the studio and assembled Wide Open, Horses. The opener and single "Never Gone" hinges on finger-picked guitar, soft tambourine, and steady handclaps as he wonders, "Cuz what the fuck are any of us really doing here? Do we even exist at all?"
"It's the anchor of the record," he notes. "It sums up the whole album; you're just trying to fight meaninglessness. I always felt like I've been trying to find meaning so I could be remembered. When you don't find it, it doesn't feel good. I got to a point where I was like, 'I fucking love this. I don't care. If my friends, family, and people who know me as a musician love it, then I'm happy'. I regretted missing so many beautiful moments, because I'd get off stage like, 'What's the next opportunity?' I've come to terms with the fact that when I die, I'll be forgotten, and it's okay. We all will. It felt ridiculous to fight it. Embracing it was very freeing. 'Never Gone' is just about appreciating what's here for you in the moment.
~~~~~~~~
On a pecan farm half a mile from the Mexican border, Post Tropical was born - a collection of sounds and ideas brought to life in rooms where the low frequencies of passing freight trains vibrated in the studio, briefly disturbing the birds in the rafters. And like most new ideas, Post Tropical is hard to describe. It requires attention and engagement. It seduces you towards hidden depths.
McMorrow's acclaimed debut album, Early in the Morning, reached number 1, went platinum and picked up a Choice Music Prize nomination upon its release in 2010. Along the way, there were shows everywhere from the Royal Festival Hall to Later... with Jools Holland, and a breakout hit in the charity cover of Steve Winwood's "Higher Love." McMorrow's first record was the formative sounds of a songwriter who suddenly found people giving a damn. "I'm so proud of that album, but I never longed to be a guy with a guitar. You play these songs live as best you can, and suddenly you're a Folk musician. But the texture of this record is completely different. This is the kind of stuff I actually listen to."Wiping the palate of Early in the Morning clean, Post Tropical is a stunning piece of work. Its broadened horizons may come as a surprise to everyone but James and the people who know him best. "I found a zip drive recently, which dates back to before I made my first record, and I'd re-recorded every single part of the N.E.R.D album - apart from the vocals - just for the joy of it. I wanted to give this record the feel and movement of the hip-hop records that I love."It's a step forward that is immediately apparent on album opener and first single "Cavalier" - a brooding twist on the Slow-Jam, which builds quietly from hushed keys and hand-claps to soaring brass, drums and McMorrow's idiosyncratic falsetto. Across the album, new sounds and textures are explored: 808s on the haunting "Red Dust," looped piano on "Look Out," and the waterfall-effect of 12 mandolins on "The Lakes." McMorrow's sometimes-surreal songwriting holds each element in place, on album which he wrote, produced, and played virtually every instrument.
The framework of Post Tropical was constructed over eight months. Coming home from tour, James had hundreds of sound files, none categorized. Pages and pages of lyrics were crossed out and edited. Nothing was written on guitar, and nothing was linear. Yet the recording itself took place on a pecan farm half a mile from the Mexican border - which the likes of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beach House, Animal Collective and At The Drive In have all called home at one point. The constraints of three and a half weeks here offered McMorrow a surprising amount of freedom. Sounds were created and changed and painstakingly poured over. The process was up for grabs, right up to the mixing stage.
What emerged was Post Tropical - complete with the paradoxical, "wish-you-were-here postcard" artwork (juxtaposing a palm tree with a polar bear). "It's so exhausting trying to keep up with styles of music that pop up one week, and disappear the next," says James. "For me, Post Tropical evokes a style of music without you having a clue what it sounds like. It's warm and familiar, but there's something there that's maybe not quite what you think it is. I just wanted to make the most beautiful thing that I could imagine. And that was it."
read more
~~~~~~~~
Irish singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, James Vincent McMorrow, returns with the announcement of his seventh full-length album Wide Open, Horses. The album marks his first release on Nettwerk Music Group and is due out 14th June.
James has beckoned listeners to open their minds and hearts since his emergence in 2010. Along the way, he gathered over 1 billion streams across an expansive catalog. Among many standouts, "Higher Love" went BPI Gold in the UK and ARIA platinum in Australia. His cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" soundtracked the trailer for Season Six of HBO's Game of Thrones and generated over 130 million Spotify streams on its Live At Killkenny Arts Festival version. Toppling charts, 2016's We Move notably debuted at #1 in Ireland. At the same time, he lent his voice to "Hype" from Drake's multiplatinum blockbuster Views, "I'm In Love" from Kygo's Cloud Nine, and "Run Away" from dvsn's Morning After, among others. 2022's surprise album The Less I Knew arrived to critical acclaim as Variance attested, "It makes for the perfect listen in the midst of these complicated times, brimming with emotion and candidly confronting struggle while also looking to a brighter day." Meanwhile, he's sold-out tours on multiple continents, even packing the world-famous Sydney Opera House twice.
In 2023, he brought Wide Open, Horses to life--on stage. He booked two nights at The National Concert Hall in Dublin, recorded a handful of lo-fi demos, practiced the material for a week, and then hit the stage. Phones weren't allowed, but James recorded it to "see what worked and what didn't work."
"I literally performed the album before it was recorded," he smiles. "The whole point was to expose the flaws and also highlight the special little moments. It was an odd experiment, but it worked great. The notion is so simple, 'Write songs and perform them live'. Without cameras, they were the best shows I've ever played--which is interesting because no one knew the music! Everyone was just experiencing it though. I had friends in the lobby talking to strangers. Who talks to strangers anymore? It was lovely. It was a heartening experience for everyone involved."
Galvanized by this energy, he hit the studio and assembled Wide Open, Horses. The opener and single "Never Gone" hinges on finger-picked guitar, soft tambourine, and steady handclaps as he wonders, "Cuz what the fuck are any of us really doing here? Do we even exist at all?"
"It's the anchor of the record," he notes. "It sums up the whole album; you're just trying to fight meaninglessness. I always felt like I've been trying to find meaning so I could be remembered. When you don't find it, it doesn't feel good. I got to a point where I was like, 'I fucking love this. I don't care. If my friends, family, and people who know me as a musician love it, then I'm happy'. I regretted missing so many beautiful moments, because I'd get off stage like, 'What's the next opportunity?' I've come to terms with the fact that when I die, I'll be forgotten, and it's okay. We all will. It felt ridiculous to fight it. Embracing it was very freeing. 'Never Gone' is just about appreciating what's here for you in the moment.
~~~~~~~~
On a pecan farm half a mile from the Mexican border, Post Tropical was born - a collection of sounds and ideas brought to life in rooms where the low frequencies of passing freight trains vibrated in the studio, briefly disturbing the birds in the rafters. And like most new ideas, Post Tropical is hard to describe. It requires attention and engagement. It seduces you towards hidden depths.
McMorrow's acclaimed debut album, Early in the Morning, reached number 1, went platinum and picked up a Choice Music Prize nomination upon its release in 2010. Along the way, there were shows everywhere from the Royal Festival Hall to Later... with Jools Holland, and a breakout hit in the charity cover of Steve Winwood's "Higher Love." McMorrow's first record was the formative sounds of a songwriter who suddenly found people giving a damn. "I'm so proud of that album, but I never longed to be a guy with a guitar. You play these songs live as best you can, and suddenly you're a Folk musician. But the texture of this record is completely different. This is the kind of stuff I actually listen to."Wiping the palate of Early in the Morning clean, Post Tropical is a stunning piece of work. Its broadened horizons may come as a surprise to everyone but James and the people who know him best. "I found a zip drive recently, which dates back to before I made my first record, and I'd re-recorded every single part of the N.E.R.D album - apart from the vocals - just for the joy of it. I wanted to give this record the feel and movement of the hip-hop records that I love."It's a step forward that is immediately apparent on album opener and first single "Cavalier" - a brooding twist on the Slow-Jam, which builds quietly from hushed keys and hand-claps to soaring brass, drums and McMorrow's idiosyncratic falsetto. Across the album, new sounds and textures are explored: 808s on the haunting "Red Dust," looped piano on "Look Out," and the waterfall-effect of 12 mandolins on "The Lakes." McMorrow's sometimes-surreal songwriting holds each element in place, on album which he wrote, produced, and played virtually every instrument.
The framework of Post Tropical was constructed over eight months. Coming home from tour, James had hundreds of sound files, none categorized. Pages and pages of lyrics were crossed out and edited. Nothing was written on guitar, and nothing was linear. Yet the recording itself took place on a pecan farm half a mile from the Mexican border - which the likes of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beach House, Animal Collective and At The Drive In have all called home at one point. The constraints of three and a half weeks here offered McMorrow a surprising amount of freedom. Sounds were created and changed and painstakingly poured over. The process was up for grabs, right up to the mixing stage.
What emerged was Post Tropical - complete with the paradoxical, "wish-you-were-here postcard" artwork (juxtaposing a palm tree with a polar bear). "It's so exhausting trying to keep up with styles of music that pop up one week, and disappear the next," says James. "For me, Post Tropical evokes a style of music without you having a clue what it sounds like. It's warm and familiar, but there's something there that's maybe not quite what you think it is. I just wanted to make the most beautiful thing that I could imagine. And that was it."
show less
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