We are less than two weeks in the New Year but the finest Irish album of 2014 could well already be upon us. James Vincent McMorrow's Post Tropical sees the Dubliner expand the sounds of his 2010 debut Early In The Morning by employing a far more sonically layered approach, adorning his songs with a suitably ethereal atmosphere to match his delicate vocals.
If Early In The Morning was the work of a man finding his creative voice, Post Tropical is the work a much more self-assured artist. After his debut record had him pegged by many as another folk singer in a sea of bearded men playing guitars (which, to be fair, also applies to him), McMorrow's second album clearly emphasises that there are several more strings to his bow than some may previously have realised.
Post Tropical has an entirely different feel to its predecessor. It leans heavily on R n'B and soul, aptly mirroring its creator's personal music preferences, while never losing itself to pastiche or facsimile. The instrumentation contained throughout the ten song, 41 minute collection is dense and lush with harp, piano, horns, drum machines (to name a few) contained throughout but it's the one instrument unique to McMorrow which sticks in your mind most - his heart-achingly beautiful falsetto.
When recording this record just north of the Mexican border, and throughout the subsequent post-production work, McMorrow had a hand in every element of this album agonising for weeks at a time on the sound of certain snare here or a tempo change there. The result of this obsessive level of attention is a record where every detail is curated, hand-picked, thought through and therefore the truest possible and most revealing glimpse at James Vincent McMorrow yet.
And the view is wonderful.
FOUR POINT FIVE STARS
Listen: Cavalier, Red Dust, Gold, Look Out
