James Vincent McMorrow returns today with the official music video for his first new music in three years, “Headlights,” available now on Sony Music U.K./RCA Records. Shot in quarantine, the video provides an ingenuous glimpse into McMorrow’s life. “When it became impossible to create our original idea for the Headlights video, we embraced the chaos. No grand plans or aspirations, simply capture life in as natural and unforced a way as possible,” McMorrow says. “We shot what we wanted when we wanted, and because Emma was on the other end of the camera, what we captured was a genuine representation of me coming back, for probably the first time. Unadorned and honest, not curated or edited to present any vision I think you might have of me. For people who might think me opaque, you know my music but you might not know me or what I am, this video is for you. Thank you to Tom Speers and his team at Smuggler for helping create this video. Thank you to Emma for shooting it. Thank you to my daughter Margot for making me interesting to watch on camera.”
McMorrow is a platinum-selling artist who has independently clocked up over 750 million streams and has seen his music travel everywhere from Drake's Views to Game Of Thrones. “Headlights” acts as the first preview of McMorrow's upcoming fifth studio album and first with Sony Music U.K./RCA Records. An always-unpredictable, multifaceted talent, ”Headlights” nonetheless has the feel of a brand new chapter for James Vincent McMorrow. From its arresting opening ("who's there for you / laying in the dark?") to the track's propulsive beats and soaring, gospel melodies, it's the sound of an artist and producer making the boldest yet most direct music of his career. “I wanted 'Headlights' to start in a plaintive humble place and finish in this huge place” says James.
Over the last decade, James Vincent McMorrow has established himself as an artist of signature style. On his own intuitive terms, James' bigger-picture approach to each project may vary, but the idea of doing exactly what you need to do, and at exactly the right time, remains a constant. He has emerged as that rare modern act as integral to the worlds of hip-hop and textured
R&B as he is the singer-songwriter roots of his early days. Behind McMorrow's instantly-identifiable voice was a heartfelt, sometimes-cryptic storyteller - who, on “Headlights,” also appears to have come to understand himself on a deeper level.
Produced by James alongside the likes of Paul Epworth, Lil Silva, Kenny Beats and Patrick Wimberley (Chairlift), songs for his forthcoming album were recorded between McMorrow's home of Dublin, LA, and London. An eclectic, deliberately-chaotic modern pop record began to take shape, around which James also became a dad. “I have more responsibilities, people and expectations around me than ever, and the world is constantly telling me to change and grow as a person,” he says. “But I don’t feel any more responsible or capable than I did when I was 18 years old. This record is about embracing the idea that it’s okay to not have things figured out."
For an artist who resists easy categorisation, “Headlights” is not about life suddenly making sense. It's about making peace with the fact that nothing does, and finding what you need (the joy, the fearlessness, and the creative freedom) in even the glare of the “Headlights.”
McMorrow most recently visited the States this past Fall, playing thrilling stripped back sets in intimate settings in both NYC and LA. Stay tuned for news about his North American touring plans.
- press release
