T’other day, I was thinking about my current music tastes, and it came down to a couple of choices. Either sprawling post-rock odysseys like Mogwai and Tortoise, or lonesome country/folk-tinged singer-songwriters like Iron and Wine (more tomorrow), John Grant, some Elliott Smith, with some dreamy psych-pop like the wonderful Cotton Jones thrown in for good measure.

Where does today’s artist James Vincent McMorrow fit in? Oh, I wonder:

Bet He's Not Written A Song Called "Yinxianghechengqi"

Oddly sybaritic instrumental post-rock played by aliens then, clearly.

Yes, he’s lived in a shack in the middle of nowhere, and yes, his music bears something of a similarity to ol’ lonesome Bon Iver¹, but trust me on this, he’s much, much better. He has the voice of a Sam Beam who’s been drinking too much Jim Beam (see what I did there?), a cunning eye for a tune that worms its way inside your head, and wraps it all in lovely, warm guitar and gives you that cuddled up in a duvet on a cold day feel.

James Vincent Mcmorrow – This Old Dark Machine by partisanpr

The debut album’s out tomorrow, fact fans, and is called “Early In The Morning”, and is available here.

¹ Whose music I must say I find a bit fucking tedious.