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Post Tropical

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Untitled

Post Tropical is the second full-length album by the Irish singer-songwriter James Vincent McMorrow. It marks a move away from the largely acoustic indie folk of his 2010 debut Early in the Morning, towards a more soulful direction, and the inclusion of electronic instruments such as a Roland TR-808,[2] brass[3] and strings, combined with hip-hop beats[4] and 1960s soul influences.[5] The album was preceded in October 2013 by the single and album opening track "Cavalier". The single's video was directed by Irish director Aoife McArdle,[6] one of three short films she made for the album.[7][8]

Asked about the dramatic change in direction, McMorrow admitted that he consciously sought to move away from the sound of his debut, and had no interest in repeating himself. He believes that musicians have a responsibility "to make new and interesting things. And not just go, 'Well that works, so I'm just gonna...'"[3]

The song "Glacier" was included in a Spanish Christmas Lottery ('El Gordo') advert, aired in November 2014, in which someone who hadn't bought a lottery ticket from the bar he always went to, tears up when the barman charges him with 21 euros; "1 for the coffee and 20 for this lottery ticket".[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Alternative Press[12]
Metro[13]
Pitchfork7.1/10
Spin8/10

Post Tropical has been met with generally positive reviews. At Alternative Press, Mischa Pearlman rated the album four stars, writing that "his half-raspy, half-angelic vocals repeat in icy desperation", and this "makes you want to freeze to death."[12] In addition, Pearlman noting that on the album he "demonstrates both his versatility and magnificence by wrapping his voice around 10 delicate but different songs."[12] On January 10, Tony Clayton-Lea of The Irish Times described "McMorrow's falsetto voice, which is used to such good effect that you're sometimes left almost breathless" and wondered if it marked "an album of the Year so early into 2014".[5] Writing in The Guardian, Harriet Gibsone describes an "incredibly beautiful record...woozy Americana", and a sound "so sweetly sentimental it makes Alt-J sound like NWA".[14] A number of critics have drawn comparison to the experimentation of James Blake and Bon Iver's second album.[2][15]

Recording

The album was recorded in 2013 in the small desert town of Tornillo, 55 miles south of El Paso in Texas.[16] The studio is located on a pecan farm, and McMorrow found the location "the most surreal place to work", and one that helped add to the tone of the album and inspire his creativity. He said "I think it's kind of engrained in the record, more than any pinpointed thing. I can hear the hot bedded air in this part. You can hear the birds in the pianos."[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by James Vincent McMorrow

Post Tropical
No.TitleLength
1."Cavalier"4:43
2."The Lakes"4:07
3."Red Dust"4:01
4."Gold"3:00
5."All Points"3:43
6."Look Out"3:26
7."Repeating"4:38
8."Post Tropical"4:33
9."Glacier"4:09
10."Outside, Digging"4:31

Chart positions

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 25
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 77
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[19] 21
French Albums (SNEP)[20] 122
Irish Albums Chart[21] 2
Irish Independent Albums Chart[22] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 78
UK Albums Chart[24] 28
UK Independent Albums Chart[25] 3

Release history

Country Date Label
Ireland[1] 10 January 2014 Believe Recordings, EMI
United Kingdom[1] 13 January 2014
United States[26] 14 January 2014 Vagrant Records

References

  1. ^ a b c "New Album 'Post Tropical' to be Released January 2014". jamesvmcmorrow.com. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b Copsey, Robert. "A bold new soundscape". Hearst Magazines, January 07, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Ward, James. "Likely forecast looks as if Post Tropical will go down a storm". Irish Daily Mirror, January 10, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  4. ^ Roche, Mark. "Post Tropical". state.ie, January 9th, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Clayton-Lea, Tony. "James Vincent McMorrow: Post Tropical". The Irish Times, January 11, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  6. ^ "Cavalier official video". jamesvmcmorrow.com, October 31, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  7. ^ The second will accompany the single "Red Dust".
  8. ^ "Aoife McArdle". Slate.ie. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  9. ^ https://www.newstalk.ie/Irish-singer-James-Vincent-McMorrow-chosen-for-tearjerking-Christmas-ad
  10. ^ "Post Tropical Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2014-01-20.
  11. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Post Tropical - James Vincent McMorrow: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  12. ^ a b c Pearlman, Mischa (2014). "James Vincent McMorrow – Post Tropical". Alternative Press. February 2014 (307). Alternative Press Magazine, Inc.: 92. ISSN 1065-1667. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  13. ^ Lewis, John (10 January 2014). "James Vincent McMorrow's R&B-influenced Post Tropical is a change of tune". Metro. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  14. ^ Gibsone, Harriet. "James Vincent McMorrow: Post Tropical". The Guardian, January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  15. ^ Lamont, Tom. "Songwriter James Vincent McMorrow stuns on 'Post Tropical'". The Observer, January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  16. ^ Early in the Morning was recorded in Drogheda, Ireland.
  17. ^ "Australiancharts.com – James Vincent McMorrow – Post Tropical". Hung Medien.
  18. ^ "Ultratop.be – James Vincent McMorrow – Post Tropical" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  19. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – James Vincent McMorrow – Post Tropical" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  20. ^ "Lescharts.com – James Vincent McMorrow – Post Tropical". Hung Medien.
  21. ^ "Top 100 Artist Albums, Week Ending 16 January 2014". Chart-Track. GfK. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  22. ^ "Top 10 Independent Artist Albums, Week Ending 16 January 2014". Chart-Track. GfK. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  23. ^ "Swisscharts.com – James Vincent McMorrow – Post Tropical". Hung Medien.
  24. ^ "Top 40 Albums, Week Ending 19/01/2014".
  25. ^ "Top 40 Independent Albums, Week Ending 19/01/2014".
  26. ^ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/post-tropical/id714883679
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