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Milwaukee's Daily Magazine for Thursday, June 20, 2013

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James Vincent McMorrow performing at Turner Hall Ballroom Tuesday night.
James Vincent McMorrow performing at Turner Hall Ballroom Tuesday night. (Photo: Erik Ljung)

McMorrow paints layered sound

James McMorrow took to the stage at Turner Hall Tuesday night and blew me away with his perfect tenor pitch. McMorrow, with the help of his tight and incredibly talented backing band, put on a memorable show that included nearly every song from his recent album, "Early in the Morning," as well as a couple of well-done covers.

McMorrow's songs brilliantly build layer upon layer of sound from subdued melodies that crash into vibrant crecendos.

As the songs raged into manic waves, it was refreshing to see a performer in the Indie Folk genre with so much energy and passion on stage. His swaying and jumping showed his audience how genuinely glad he was to be here.

His sound is reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens or Bon Iver meets Mumford and Sons. McMorrow's signature has to be in his painting of vibrant soundscapes.

Comparing his music to that of an artist, he begins with subtle, soft strokes, and builds to powerful stabs of the brush. McMorrow says, "I like to take the simplest of chords and wrap them in washes of melody."

Continuing to punctuate of his music, his set went from powerful songs like 'Sparrow and the Wolf" to the more elegant and moody "If I Had a Boat" and "Follow You Down To The Red Oak Tree."

It was a treat to see this Irishman bring his soulful visions to the stage. The vibrant and melodic nature of his sounds will stay with me for some time.

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