James Vincent McMorrow

Early in the Morning – the haunting debut album from Irish singer-songwriter James Vincent McMorrow – was born of isolation. McMorrow, like Bon Iver before him – holed up in a remote house (on the Irish coast) with his guitar, laptop, microphone and a head full of Steinbeck and F. Scott Fitzgerald. The result – an intimate and literate mix of wistful acoustic folk and more American West Coast sounds – is a far cry from the singer’s formative influences: the hard-core rock of Refused at the Drive-In and Glassjaw. The turning point, according to McMorrow, was hearing Donny Hathaway’s soul ballad I Love You More Than You Will Ever Know. A circuitous route to success, perhaps. But you’ll be glad he took the journey.

With support from Story Books.