Upon arriving at the cobbled graveyard front entrance of St Mary’s church (with the support act having already begun) I could see looking at me in the shadows, by the corner of his tour van, the top-hatted and dark coated, pale thin features of John Murry. Sadistically I felt like requesting that he walk to the church’s rear side where a crowd of backpacked American students were investigating, selfie-ing & photo bombing. The gothic haunted vision of Murry would no doubt have provided them with the exact image they possibly sought. Their biggest surprise however would’ve been finding out this Dickensian non-ghost was actually from their very own shores. Continue reading “John Murry + Lucas & King, St Mary’s Church, Guildford, 22nd July 2017”
Tag: John Murry
John Murry “A Short History Of Decay” (TV Records, 2017)
It’s been five years since John Murry appeared set to build on the accolades garnered by his album, The Graceless Age, a sublime record which took the raw material of his unsettled life (and near death from an overdose) and turned it into art. It was not to be however as events conspired and he ended up, as he saw it, in exile in Ireland with only occasional forays into the limelight. A man haunted by his past and somewhat rudderless, he was still capable of turning in fine songs and remained a compelling live performer but The Graceless Age owed much to Murry’s co-producer, Tim Mooney, and Mooney’s sudden death as the album was released was just one hammer blow to Murry’s newfound stability. On A Short History Of Decay he appears to have found a replacement of sorts to Mooney in the form of Michael Timmins of The Cowboy Junkies, a fan of Murry’s but also a man able to corral his wayward genius. Continue reading “John Murry “A Short History Of Decay” (TV Records, 2017)”
The past is never dead. It’s not even past – an interview with John Murry
John Murry’s 2012 album The Graceless Age was hailed by MOJO magazine with a 5 out of 5 rating, UNCUT called it a “masterpiece”, both magazines included it in their Top 10 albums of the year; American Songwriter put it in their Top 5 of the year and The Guardian included it in their best of the year as well. Written and recorded in the wake of a heroin addiction the album was candid in its depiction of his struggles and near death encounter, the grim tales delivered with an almost suffocating beauty concocted by Murry and his producer, Tim Mooney. On stage Murry seemed at times to be reliving the events described, his performances raw, an exorcism of sorts. The sudden death of his mentor Mooney and a marital breakup derailed whatever momentum was being achieved and although he has continued to perform and has recorded several EPs, many were wondering if he would ever record another album. At times Murry himself seemed to regard the album as a millstone around his neck. Continue reading “The past is never dead. It’s not even past – an interview with John Murry”
John Murry announces more UK dates – September
John Murry is having a little galavant around the UK next month which you would have thought is enough to let him put his feet up for the rest of the year but no – he’s back a couple of months after with more dates, kicking things off in Southampton on September 12th and winding his way up and down the country before ending up in Durham on 23rd. He’s also released a rather fine trailer for the documentary “A Short History of Decay” which you can watch below. Continue reading “John Murry announces more UK dates – September”
John Murry announces new album, UK summer dates
John Murry’s new album “A Short History of Decay” is out in July and he’s announced a handful of gigs/festival dates around the UK to promote it, one of which is tonight if you’re lively. The album was recorded in Toronto and produced by Michael Timmins of The Cowboy Junkies, also featuring Peter Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) on drums and Josh Finlayson (Skydiggers, Gord Downie, Lee Harvey Osmond) on bass along with Cait O’Riordan (The Pogues, Elvis Costello). The album’s release date of 14th July was chosen because it is Bastille Day, and because of the French connections to the book “A Short History Of Decay” where John took the title from. There’ll be a new single released on the same day too called “Under a Darker Moon.” Here’s those dates and the track listing for the album. Continue reading “John Murry announces new album, UK summer dates”
John Murry announces UK dates, new album
John Murry was raised in Tupelo, Mississippi and had a bit of a hairy time in life as a younger man but his journey led him to his last album “The Graceless Age” which was praised by Q magazine as “intensely beautiful… Like Father John Misty, Mark Lanegan and Josh T Pearson rolled into one really broken dream.” Don’t you hate it when dreams break? Anyway he’s back with a new album “A Short History of Decay” which will be out on 14th July on TV Records, and in the meantime he’ll be playing a handful of UK shows in April, previewing songs from the record. Here’s those dates, along with the gorgeous opening track from the new album. Continue reading “John Murry announces UK dates, new album”