Track of the Day: James Vincent McMorrow - 'The Less I Knew'

Malahide man James Vincent McMorrow has revealed a gentle, down-tempo new single 'The Less I Knew' today. Alongside the single, the musician has announced that he will be releasing not one but two albums in 2022: The Less I Knew (out June 24th) and Heavyweight Champion of Dublin 8 (out Autumn 2022).

The song has delicate piano chords as the foundation, mingles with folk elements and lo-fi backing synths. "A beating heart is thrown out of a car in the dark/I find it and I check it for scars, and make sure it's clean," he begins. "And I go back inside, 'cause there's nothing for us here in the night/Just a helicopter buzzing nearby ruining my sleep."

It's a song about acknowledging failures when trying to be a great artist, dragging himself over the line. The less he knows about what it takes to reach his ambitions the better, he decides. The words are simple but diaristic in format, with minimal distractions in the background.

"The fact I get to do this job at all is an absolute miracle. And it all could be over in a minute. So I’m not going to overthink it if I can help it," McMorrow explains in a press release detailing his forthcoming sixth and seventh albums, which follow 2021's Grapefruit Season with Sony/Columbia.

"The album is just about doing whatever you want, whatever you need, to make life work for you. Less pretence, less containing emotion inside and hoping it subsides, less worrying about what other people might be thinking or doing."

"In terms of these records, and life right now, I’m kind of making this up as a go. And honestly, it feels amazing. In some cases these songs are only weeks old, myself and Alex have been recording and mixing in real time, moving fast, never when it’s forced. Before the last album I was really into the notion of the time between creation and release being brought down to as little as possible, so that you can still almost feel the electricity that hasn’t yet subsided."

All songs on both albums are written and produced by McMorrow, with engineering and mixing by Alex Borwick.

Listen to 'The Less I Know' below.

Check out our brand new Rapid Fire Q&A with James Vincent McMorrow and revisit his 2021 cover story here.