The song is a slow, hypnotic track written by singer-songwriter Cathal Murphy. He is from Camlough or Camloch, a small village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland.
Ever Since We Were Young is a soundtrack to a Northern Ireland film Reavy Brothers, about the 1976 killings in Armagh. If you love artistic short movies based on real life, you should see this film. The song also features the signature sound of Cathal Murphy with his deep and poignant lyrics coupled with a structure which falls on minimalist folk. His haunting voice echoes the story’s sorrowful spirit but with that sense of justice and redemption. I love this track for its hymn-like style and spiritual vibe.
Layne Greene wrote these songs around late 2015 and after two years of tinkering, they found their way into this EP.
Today was a good day. I raced against a geared bike (I ride a fixed gear road bike) prior to to a delicious dinner. And then this amazing EP completed the evening. I am talking about August by Canadian singer-songwriter based in New Glasgow, Layne Greene. This four-track EP was actually conceived around August of 2015. And overtime, it was developed and layered with various musical ideas from the artist.
His music has always possessed this deceptive simplicity. His melodies are easy to sing along. But if you pay attention to the structure (I call it sonic architecture) you can hear the complexities underneath. The rhythms are rich and fascinating. I can hear the faint influence of Gregory Alan Isakov in the use of syncopated beats, ample use of reverb and atmospheric keys. Then there’s also his use of ambient and (downplayed) electronica (listen to the first track The Driving Song).
This robust EP is also the end result of talented musicians backing him up. For example, Bryan MacDonald brought his unique guitar style to each song. I haven’t heard any guitarist at par with his technique. He has keen ear for dreamy and otherworldly sounds. The complicated beats were masterfully rendered by Alex Lank. These two artists also appeared in his Everywhere Around Here album.
Could this be the introduction to the kind of sounds we will hear in his sophomore album? Who knows? He always keeps me guessing.
The Irishman with an exquisite and smooth silky voice is back! The new single is Rising Water released in early July this year. James Vincent McMorrow broke into the indie pop/folk scene with Post Tropical and Early in the Morning. His live performances duplicate the meticulous perfection of his studio recordings. And yes that remarkable voice has attracted 100 million Spotify streams! Rising Water is taken from the new album We Move. Expect the album to sell like hotcakes. Check out the lyric video of Rising Water above.
Read further about the new release:
NEW SINGLE “RISING WATER” AVAILABLE NOW
James Vincent McMorrow, an Irish singer/songwriter from Dublin, has just released his new single Rising Water. The single is the opening track of his upcoming album We Move, which is set to be released on September 2nd via Caroline Records. On July 4th, Rising Water was premiered by Annie Mac on her program ‘Mac’s Hottest Record in the World’ on BBC Radio, listen at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p040fl09. After its UK debut, the single was released here in the U.S., which McMorrow called home for a few months while he recorded his new album.
In early 2015 McMorrow decamped to Los Angeles for four surreal months, wanting to experience something totally alien to any way he’d ever worked before. McMorrow explains “Making this album was about changing so many things. Physically changing where I was, mentally changing how I think about life, about myself, how I think about making music. Every time I’ve made a record in the past, I’ve walked to the edge of where I’ve wanted to be, I’ve gotten scared, and I’ve walked back to a safe distance.”
Rising Water is the perfect example of what the rest of the album holds. The single, along with the rest of the record, features production from Nineteen85 (Drake, dvsn), Two Inch Punch (Sam Smith, Years & Years), and Frank Dukes (Kanye West, Rihanna), as well as mixing from the legendary Jimmy Douglass (Donny Hathaway, Timbaland).
McMorrow’s 2010 debut ‘Early in the Morning’ achieved platinum-status and reached #1 in his home country of Ireland. His “Breath-taking” (VICE) second album ‘Post Tropical’ was nominated for the Choice Music Prize, and led to sell outs at the biggest venues of McMorrow’s career including two nights at Sydney Opera House, and London’s Barbican & Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Earlier this year, McMorrow surpassed 100 million Spotify streams, recorded a cover of “Wicked Games” for a trailer of season six of Game of Thrones, and was featured on “I’m In Love” off Kygo’s debut LP ‘Cloud Nine.’
I think every passionate individual will always have that driving need to do something. The question is, will that ‘something’ remain the same. I’ve been pondering this for the past few days as I took a a break from blogging and devoted my time to something else. And that is also the reason why this review is long overdue. I feel that for a music lover, I need time and and a good place to listen to music in order for it to touch me. I need to be able to bring that music somewhere else and let it speak to me, if it fails to speak to me in my current state. Our taste in music changes with our mood and also our environment. Singer-songwriters are very familiar to this trade. That is why they don’t force themselves to just make music for the sake of quantity. There has to be ‘soul’ in it. And everyone who works in the creative field knows this as well. Time is important. And nature is our music.
When you listen singer/songwriters like Jeremy Tuplin, you need that special place not just physically but mentally. His songs are rich in imagery and texture. If you let them soak in, you will realize how they can resonate with your life, be it your past or current state. People who love Leonard Cohen will really like what he does with his melodies and lyrics. His voice is also deep and honest. You get the sense that he bleeds with every lines.
I love British folk and Irish ballads and his style is a familiar territory. That’s why when I heard the first stanza of Kathleen(the opening track) I am taken into that familiar world once again. That time in my early twenties when I got a copy of The Long Black Veil by the Chieftains. I hear a bit of Van Morrison but yes the rest of his tracks are distinctive. So what can he say about his music? According to him:
“I wanted to try and create something that’s not really specific to any genre. I’ve got loads of different influences – from Cass Mccombs to Willy Mason, from Leonard Cohen to Bill Callahan, but also acts from the London circuit who are barely known but incredible. There’s that underlying ‘folk’ element, but I’m hoping this EP moves away from that to something more contemporary.”
I think he really accomplished his goal in this album as all tracks sound eclectic. I am reminded of folk greats like Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young who moved away from the common formula and created albums that stand out the test of time.
Open Letters is now available for download via various sites. The EP has five songs early this year. Visit: https://resonatingwoodrecordings.bandcamp.com/merch
If you haven’t yet do check out the latest release from Resonating Wood Recordings called A Game With Masks by Rusted Sounds. The new album has 12 songs all written around voice and guitar. In The Air is a personal favorite because I love its arrangement. Everything about it has a cinematic feel. A king of song you would love to listen to while watching the rain or seeing the sun set.
A Game with Masks has a light overall feel as singer/songwriter Philip Soanes prefers the bare acoustic feel as opposed to the basic guitar-drum-bass set up. A Game with Mask should be a perfect accompany to your languid afternoons.
I have to say I love the strings, glokenspeil and other instruments that color this album (especially in the song Lie Down). Every songs works and it’s the kind of album you can play again and again, as it gains resonance with every listen.
Recorded at home in Kraków, Poland and Bratislava, Slovakia in 2014 / early 2015.
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