James Vincent McMorrow has today released the video for new single ‘Paradise’, which is available now on Columbia Records. ‘Paradise’ is the latest taste of James’ much-anticipated new album ‘Grapefruit Season’, which also features teaser singles ‘Headlights’, ‘Gone’, ‘I Should Go’ (with Kenny Beats) and is now set for release on September 17th.
James recently made headlines playing the first concert in Ireland with a live audience since the beginning of the pandemic (tickets for the pilot gig sold out in just 30 seconds). With festivals including Latitude and Isle of Wight confirmed to follow this summer, McMorrow’s UK and European tour for early 2022 includes a London date at Kentish Town Forum on February 21st and two homecoming shows at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre on April 19th/20th.
Produced by James alongside Paul Epworth and Lil Silva, ‘Paradise’ is about pretending everything is fine when, beneath the surface, it really isn’t. Initially struggling to find its visual concept, the ‘Paradise’ video started at as an off-hand remark (“why don’t I just dig out my rollerblades and film myself learning to skate again in the park behind my house?”) but now feels like the perfect fit to the track’s uplifting, feel-good but melancholic centre.
‘Paradise’ further previews ‘Grapefruit Season’, James Vincent McMorrow’s upcoming, fifth studio album – and one in which the artist, producer and songwriter pushes himself (and his sound) in all new ways. The record was recorded between London, Los Angeles and Dublin, largely before the pandemic struck. It embraces the timeless yet timely fact that life is chaos; the idea of growing up, but as ‘Paradise’ suggests, still feeling none the wiser. Each song is held together by McMorrow’s instantly-identifiable voice, an untethered musical imagination, and (from dancehall to soul, country to R&B) purposefully little else in its pursuit of fear-free pop music. Even the title, ‘Grapefruit Season’, seems to signpost doing simply what you want, rather than what you are supposed to do (it was inspired by James watching his mum eat grapefruit as a kid, and the idea that what’s good for you may not actually be pleasurable).
Throughout the emotional highs and lows of ‘Grapefruit Season’, you are reminded of the risks James Vincent McMorrow has taken since the singer-songwriter roots of debut album ‘Early In The Morning’ (which turned ten in 2020); but also that those same instincts – to follow inspiration wherever it leads, and to be as brutally honest possible – remain a refreshing constant. Whilst there may always be trouble in ‘Paradise’, what’s emerged is James Vincent McMorrow’s most essential album to date.
February 4th || Leuven || Het Depot
February 5th || Paris || Le Trianon
February 6th || Luxembourg || Den Atelier
February 8th || Frankfurt || Batschkapp
February 9th || Amsterdam || Paradiso
February 10th || Hamburg || Grunspan
February 12th || Stockholm || Nalen
February 13th || Copenhagen || Vega
February 15th || Berlin || Metropol
February 16th || Cologne || Gloria Theatre
February 18th || Manchester || O2 Ritz
February 20th || Birmingham || O2 Institute
February 21st || London || O2 Kentish Town Forum
February 22nd || Bristol || O2 Academy
February 23rd || Glasgow || Barrowland Ballroom
April 19th || Dublin || Olympia Theatre
April 20th || Dublin || Olympia Theatre
April 21st || Belfast || Limelight
April 22nd || Limerick || Milk Market
