Early in the Morning

The Dublin singer-songwriter is one of the new breed of Irish artists heavily influenced by the Americana movement. Certainly fans of M. Ward, Bon Iver, Ray Lamontagne, Fleet Foxes, Iron and Wine and a host of other new Stateside voices will find plenty of familiar touchstones here. In particular, McMorrow’s voice is a thing of beauty in itself: forceful where it’s needed but fragile too, while his songs stand out as mature, reflective and melodically well-turned out.

Recorded in a cottage by the sea with a sparse but effective backdrop of acoustic guitars, sundry other plucked instruments and a sympathetic rhythm section, it’s a testament to his ingenuity that McMorrow has made this DIY effort sound so compelling.

From the jaunty rhythms and exhilarating melody of ‘The Sparrow and the Wolf’ to his cracked falsetto on ‘Down The Burning Ropes’ the sound is thoroughly beguiling.

‘If I Had A Boat’ (not the Lyle Lovett song of the same name) is almost hypnotic in its intensity. ‘This Old Dark Machine’ veers impressively close to Fleet Foxes territory. But the undoubted highlight here is the ballad ‘And If My Heart Should Somehow Stop’, where he blends nu-folk textures with an otherworldly melody. Impressive stuff.