James Vincent McMorrow puts the success of his debut album, Early In The Morning, down to a period of self-imposed seclusion.
Yet crowds walking away from his latest gig felt something quite different to the desolation of a lonely Irish beach-house.
His haunting, soulful quality was paired with breathless, pounding rhythms and an entirely unpretentious style. The end result was a wholeheartedly warm and genuine performance. The historic beauty of Brighton Dome was the perfect venue for the folky songsmith.
If you didn’t know any better, you might expect a gravelly, Cash-esque sound to emerge from beneath McMorrow’s strapping chest and mane-like beard. However his distinctive high ranges, accompanied particularly well by the delicate twang of the mandolin, worked beautifully across a number of songs. A real highlight was his solo cover of Steve Winwood’s Higher Love. It’s easy to see how McMorrow’s sound has been compared to that of popular singer Bon Iver. Luckily, the real similarities lie in their attention-catching and imagination-stirring qualities.
His big, standout numbers If I Had A Boat and We Don’t Eat were performed with an affecting and electric quality that far surpassed their pre-recorded versions.
McMorrow was refreshingly open with onstage banter and laughs, and it wasn’t at all difficult to believe that when he said he loved playing in Brighton, he actually meant it.
With this first album of songs showing such promise and songwriting skill, we can only hope McMorrow quickly returns to that miserable Irish beach-house, so we can enjoy it all over again soon.
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