James Vincent McMorrow's 'Early in the Morning'

I discovered James Vincent McMorrow when I missed him supporting City and Colour at the Royal Albert Hall. Dallas Green made a comment whilst onstage, something along the lines of McMorrow having an amazing voice. Coming from the master vocalist himself, high praise indeed. Disappointed at having missed him (and more so now that I've heard the album) something had to be done.

We're of course lucky to be able to listen to music without having to buy it nowadays. I remember ten years ago, hearing one song by a band and, if a friend didn't own the album, having to buy it off of the back of that song alone. A gamble that often paid off but occasionally resulted in a tenner down the drain (yep, albums, the only thing that have actually gone DOWN in price over the years!)

But I digress. A brief snippet of his album on Spotify had me hooked. Yet my eMusic account only had enough credit to buy three of the songs (emusic is actually the cheapest way I've found to legally get music, though my package only allows one and a half albums worth of downloads a month... Maybe I should upgrade my package...) I grabbed the first three tracks, loved them, but a month later found out that the best was yet to come.

The rest of Early in the Morning contains some wonderful music. The sombre 'Follow You Down to the Red Oak Tree' is haunting and a song that individually has changed my personal approach to song writing. Equally as beautiful, 'We Don't Eat' is one of those songs I will always wish I had written. Deeply personal and stunningly beautiful.

This album comes from a man, who ironically doesn't have the voice dallas green made me expect. Whispering, cracking, reminding me of Sam Duckworth and Samuel Beam. If you enjoy any them, or anything with a folkish vein running through it, go and buy Early in the Morning. You won't regret it.