'Now Playing: Unknown Artist'.
Although this is only the second album from London trio Miraculous Mule, this borders on the criminal. Unknown huh? It’s true, of course, but it damn well shouldn’t be! Not when three people can play the blues so well that it smells of whisky and cigarettes. Not when a band has a legacy that takes in 20 years of magnificent music, including a single, The Curse, with Dream City Film Club, that was so good that John Peel refused to stop playing it until it became a hit. It never did.
But that’s another story, another band. Former DCFC frontman/guitarist Michael J Sheehy, having put out a few solo albums, has a new band. And while the ingredients may always be infused with gospel and blues, the flavour is different each time. And always, always stunning. Seriously, Wayfaring Stranger is just beautiful, a dusty dirt road in the middle of nowhere, that maybe leads to redemption. It’s the sound of hope and of regret, perhaps occasionally the taste of tears. Good music can do that.
So why unknown artist? That, frankly, is a mystery. Fans of Mark Lanegan would doubtless be into it, as would fans of QOTSA, Chris Isaak, maybe even Nick Cave and Clutch. And it’s not like co-frontman Patrick McCarthy doesn’t have a legacy of his own. Hell, some of this was recorded at home, but still sounds like it came out of Rancho De La Luna. Now playing unknown artist? Always playing unknown artist!
