James Vincent McMorrow – ‘Cavalier’

With James Vincent McMorrow’s second album Post Tropical on the way in early 2014 (January 10th) and his tour dates selling well, the timing is right to hear a track from it. And what a track.

James can often be found on Twitter, extoling the virtues of music as varied as D’Angelo to Fiona Apple to Pusha T, so it’s not really surprising that ‘Cavalier, the opening song on the new album, moves the story on from the his anthemic folk debut LP Early In The Morning.

‘Cavalier’ moves from a sombre atmospheric piano mood to towards James Blake-esque electronic-soul while James pushes his tender falsetto all the way singing “I remember my first love.” The track cascades into a rich full-band crescendo and a vocalised outro. It’s a really beautiful epic opening track for a record. Expectations were already high but this track suggests the possibilities are blown open for Post Tropical.

Lyrics

speak until the dust
settles in the same specific place
light refused to go
drink it from a cast and iron plate
instead of cold milk
was offered unripe
instead of silence
considered craven

nothing made it seem
hidden where the aging soil was pure
pressed against the crease
mountains become fragrant at the source
how can you stand this
exotic angle
i read it somewhere
that they would lie still

i remember how cloth hung
flexing with the forest clung
half waist and high raised arms
kicking at the slightest form
i remember my first love
i remember my first love

unrelied i was called
missing teeth out of favour
nickel beach it was all
gathering by the sundial

i woke hard
i woke heavy
for the half way stop
five whole hours in
when i woke hard
i woke heavy with the live or parts

i remember how cloth hung
flexing with the forest clung
half waist and high raised arms
kicking at the slightest form
i remember my first love
i remember my first love

i remember my first love