James Vincent McMorrow's debut album, 2011's Early In The Morning, wound up as my No. 5 album of that year. I first became aware of the Irish singer-songwriter in late 2010 when he opened up for Bell X1 at The Ark in Ann Arbor and he held the entire audience in a trance with just his guitar and that amazing gift of a voice he possesses. His album did not disappoint, and I knew this was a new artist worth following closely.
So here we are at the start of 2014 and McMorrow's much anticipated second album is finally in my hands. He was a bit pigeonholed after that first album as another folkie, not hard to understand given the majority of the songs were based around the acoustic guitar. Early In The Morning WAS a folk-pop album, and a damn great one at that. But McMorrow has made it a point in interviews promoting this second album that he doesn't care to fall under any label, he just wants to make great music. And Post Tropical is proof he has done exactly that.
The first sign things would be a bit different for the sophomore album came with the first song released. "Cavalier" is a stunner as McMorrow's falsetto reaches amazing heights on what can only be described as a soul ballad. It is one of many astounding vocal performances on Post Tropical. McMorrow has his full range on display throughout, from lead vocals to multi-tracked backing vocals and harmonies created with himself. The second song released, "Red Dust", is equally impressive. I first heard this performed last year in Ann Arbor at a solo acoustic show and the transformation from acoustic ballad to electro-R&B is fantastically realized.
Thankfully the rest of the album lives up to the promise of the first two preview tracks. Even though a lot of the stories I have read about Post Tropical make note of the shift in sound, it is not as if McMorrow has completely abandoned his folk direction. Songs like "Gold", "Repeating" and "Looking Out" all easily could have fit on his debut album and acoustic guitars and piano are still prominent. But there is an emphasis on keyboards, electronic beats and claps and a more soulful approach to the music this time around, see tracks like the title cut, "All Points" and "Glacier", and it all works beautifully.
I know it is early in the year and there are eleven months of releases ahead, but James Vincent McMorrow has already set the bar high for 2014. Post Tropical is a vocal tour de force, dripping with heart, soul and melody, and an early contender for Album of the Year.
Favorite tracks: "Cavalier", "Red Dust", "Looking Out", "Post Tropical"
Post Tropical was released January 14, 2014 on the Vagrant Records label.
Official Website of James Vincent McMorrow
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