It's safe to say we can declassify James Vincent McMorrow as a 'folk artist' at this point.

The Dubliner's third album dives headlong into the synthy r'n'b and soul stylings plundered on 2014's 'Post Tropical', leaving the sparse, strummed songs of his 2010 debut for dust.

Here, effects-laden keyboards and double-tracked vocals are king, with songs like the soulful chug of 'Rising Water' and the slouchy nocturnal ambience of 'I Lie Awake' setting the tone.

As the tracklisting progresses, however, it begins to sound like McMorrow has set his scope a little too narrowly and songs begin to blend into one mass of throbbing basslines, glistening keys and that (admittedly remarkable) soulful falsetto.The resultant album could have been one to challenge the listener, rather than one to passively absorb.

Then again, considering McMorrow's journey to date, that could still be yet to come.

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