When thinking Irish temperament it tends to be in extremes. On the one hand there's the raucous, life-affirming, fun loving side. On the other is the melancholic, mournful, hard-luck side. And as a musician, Dubliner James Vincent McMorrow has covered both.
Cutting his teeth on hardcore punk, McMorrow credits Crosby, Stills and Nash for turning him folk. He now makes slow-moving, heartbreaking albums with faintly tragic guitar-picked melodies and high-pitched vocals (not unlike Bon Iver, actually). Meanwhile, his lyrical inspiration comes from the likes of John Steinbeck, F Scott Fitzgerald and Roald Dahl, writers Mc Morrow looks to for "the darker, less spoken-about aspects of life, solitude and disillusionment."
In terms of the good vs. the hard luck of the Irish, McMorrow's music may fall in the latter category. But we're all the luckier for it.
His new album will be available January 25 in the Canada/US, and March 7 in Europe. For now, you can get his self-titled EP from Faction Records.
- The Strokes have finally set a date for a new album release: March 22nd. Linear Tracking Lives has details.
- According to Spinner, Gorillaz have added a new member. I repeat--there is a new animated musician to care about. I'd call that geeky, but I'm a fucking blogger .
- The Bruise Cruise departs from Miami and docks in the Bahamas. It has a spa, dining, dancing, day trips, a swimming pool and all that other good cruise stuff. Oh, and it's a floating music festival featuring the likes of The Black Lips, Vivian Girls, Strange Boys, Ty Segall, Surfer Blood, Thee Oh Sees, Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Turbo Fruits and DJ Jonathan Toubin. Screw the buffet on this one. (Sonic Masala)
- Speaking of festivals, Stereogum has the possible Coachella lineup. All in one place, you could see Paul McCartney, Sleigh Bells, Arcade Fire, Bright Eyes, PJ Harvey, Lykke Li, Diplo, Daft Punk, Gwyneth Paltrow... Wait, what?
- ThisBonusTrack has a double dose of truly gorgeous music with Alcoholic Faith Mission and James Vincent McMorrow, all in one post.
- Way back in the summer, guerolitomusic named electro-pop outfit Foster the People a "band to watch." They're usually right about these things over there so you might want to check out the new single.
- Dominic over at This Moving Picture and I both made unrelated, out-of-date Jeff Spicoli references on the same day, his about Ducktails, mine about La Femme. That's a bizarre enough coincidence to make this list.
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