James Vincent McMorrow has conferred us a lovely tune in the form of How To Waste A Moment. James was with us in Australia in 2014 for a national tour, which garnered masses of critical praise. His new release has got us pinning for a new album.
How To Waste A Moment starts with this slightly off-centre trombone, tumbling over a neatly pruned beat. Then, the glassy glitter-sound of a xylophone counterbalances the deliberate discordance. In my silly mind, I imagine an elephant and a mouse doing a cross-species flamenco on a crystal dance floor (and yes, it is very beautiful to witness). But, McMorrow’s raspy crooning holds the whole piece together as he lilts about the decisions and revisions of every moment. It is pensive and experimental, but still accessible. James Vincent McMorrow has shared the rhyme and reason behind the song in the following statement (from his Soundcloud):
“Wasted moments. We had a lot of them. Even though I believe I’ve done the right thing at the time, when I look back I realize I actually made my life a lot more difficult. Not an uncommon tale. I rarely learn anything from the mistakes, in fact if I went back I’d probably do the same stuff all over again.
But I am trying. I’m trying to be better, and more honest. I was thinking about those wasted moments one night while I was working on my next record. I started writing this song, finished it in front of my drum kit the next day. I already had all my songs for the new record, this felt like something different, born out of the same ideas but for different reasons.
I recorded it with tempo because life to me is tempo, it’s rarely slow. This song is the connect from where I was, to where I’m going to be very soon.”