James Vincent McMorrow: Post Tropical LP

On January 14, Vagrant will release 'Post Tropical,' the second full-length, studio album by Dublin's James Vincent McMorrow. Written, produced, and performed entirely by McMorrow, 'Post Tropical' was recorded on a pecan farm half a mile from the Mexican border located between El Paso and ruthless bustle of Juárez. Built up slowly and spontaneously from hundreds of non-linear sound files and lyric pages, the result is 10 stunning, meticulously crafted original songs. Its broadened horizons may come as a surprise to everyone but McMorrow himself, who has harbored a lifelong love of hip-hop and atmospheric R&B. "I wanted to give this record the feel and movement of the R&B records that I love," he says.

It's a step forward that is immediately apparent on album opener and first single "Cavalier" - a brooding twist on the Slow-Jam, which builds quietly from hushed keys and hand-claps to soaring brass, beats and McMorrow's idiosyncratic falsetto. Across the album, the sounds and melodies evolved from a painstaking process of building texture: there are 808s on the haunting "Red Dust," looped piano on "Looking Out," and 50 mandolins made to sound like a waterfall on "The Lakes." This is definitely a side to James we have yet to see.