Even in his sparest moments, James Vincent McMorrow approaches candid soul-folk with a heavy experimental streak. Born in Dublin in 1983, the singer-songwriter taps into his mind’s darkest crevices, spinning vulnerability into warm, falsetto-powered harmonies and lush, haunting arrangements—even turning a cover of Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” into a devastating lament. While McMorrow’s 2010 debut, Early in the Morning, centred on sparse acoustic songwriting, each successive album has revealed more of the troubadour’s myriad influences. There are the touches of vintage soul in 2014’s Post Tropical, experimental hip-hop in 2016’s We Move, and woozy synths in 2017’s True Care. He’s even been an unlikely foil to dance hitmakers like Rudimental and Kygo. As he continues to push his sound in a variety of directions, he still roots it all in the fragile folk of his beginnings.