James Vincent McMorrow – Sparrow and The Wolf

Photo by Carrie Day

We’ve been fans of singer-songwriter James Vincent McMorrow for a minute now. His penchant for soulful melody and tuneful lyricism makes him one to keep eyes peeled to in 2011. Already a success in his native Ireland (#1 album, sold-out national tour), McMorrow is set to release his debut LP Early in the Morning in the States in January. We can’t wait. Check out some of these quotes about his development as an artist and writer. (Man, would we love to just hang out and talk music with this guy.)

“I started listening to older music from the 50’s-70’s, and learning guitar, piano. Then I heard a Donny Hathaway song called ‘I Love You More Than You Will Ever Know’ and it made me want to start singing.“ (YES!) “I’ve been a huge fan of female singers, probably because of the way I sing. I can understand the way they construct melody almost better than I can the way male singers write.” (YES!) “That’s how I started learning how to record myself,” remembers James, “by listening to people like The Neptunes and Timbaland, and trying to figure out how they did what they did.” (YES!)

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rating: 8.3

Reviewed by b3