John Murphy

Liverpool, Sheffield

Writes about music for @musicOMH and theatre for @TheStage. Tweets about music, film, TV, theatre, comedy, all that sort of thing. Like football, hate “banter”.

Articles

Pulp - More | Album Of The Week, Album Reviews | musicOMH

5 days ago | musicomh.com | John Murphy

So THIS is what they do for an encoreWhen Pulp announced their reunion in 2022, everyone presumed it would be a similar situation when they last reformed in 2012 – a few nostalgia-baiting shows for fans seeking a return to their Britpop days, desperate to see Jarvis Cocker point that finger one last time. And, for a while, that’s precisely how it seemed. Then came the surprising announcement that Sheffield’s favourite band of misfits had signed an album deal with Rough Trade. And now we have More.
Miley Cyrus - Something Beautiful

1 week ago | musicomh.com | John Murphy |John Murphy

Sprawling ninth album is another pleasingly unpredictable swing from one of our more intriguing and exciting pop starsIt’s hardly a revelation to say that Miley Cyrus is unconstrained by the norms of the music industry. Whether it be THAT VMA incident, various songs that allude to recreational drugs or an experimental psych-rock album with The Flaming Lips, Cyrus doesn’t do things the conventional way. In a sense, it probably explains her extraordinary longevity.
Kathryn Joseph - We Were Made Prey

1 week ago | musicomh.com | John Murphy

The Glasgow songwriter’s fourth album is an intense, haunting listen. The raw emotion is something to beholdOver the course of three albums, Kathryn Joseph has built up a reputation as a real songwriter of note. All three of her albums have been minimally produced, and usually just feature Joseph backed by a piano. Her songs are mysterious, eerie and, sometimes, impossibly fragile. What makes Joseph’s fourth album We Were Made Prey so startling is how muscular it sounds.
Sally Shapiro - Ready To Live A Lie

1 week ago | musicomh.com | John Murphy

It’s impressive that Sally Shapiro have maintained their air of mystique for nearly 20 years. For those unfamiliar with the Swedish duo’s backstory, their 2006 debut introduced them as Johan Agebjörn and a mysterious female vocalist known only as Sally Shapiro, her real name always remaining undisclosed. They’ve never toured and, in fact, have only ever performed a couple of live shows.
Matt Berninger - Get Sunk

1 week ago | musicomh.com | John Murphy |John Murphy

The National frontman’s second solo album is a subtly textured delight that feels both playful and emotionalThe National may be on a hiatus at the moment – after releasing not one but two albums in 2023 and embarking on a truly mammoth world tour – but it seems nobody truly rests in the Brooklyn-based band. Aaron and Bryce Dessner are very in-demand songwriters and producers for a whole host of different bands, while Matt Berninger has decided to dip his toe back into the world of solo projects.
Pan Amsterdam - Confines

1 week ago | musicomh.com | John Murphy

Trumpeter, composer, producer and rapper Leron Thomas puts together a thrilling mix of styles on his fourth albumLeron Thomas may have trained as a jazz trumpeter, but he’s obviously not a man to be pigeonholed into any particular genre. As well as a trumpeter, he’s a noted composer, producer and, under the Pan Amsterdam moniker, a rapper. He’s also worked with artists as diverse as Erykah Badu, Iggy Pop and Metronomy and is also the frontman in the band Guts.
MAD! | Album Reviews | musicOMH

2 weeks ago | musicomh.com | John Murphy

By the time the closing track Lord Have Mercy comes around, you’ll be mentally reordering your list of top 10 all-time Mael brothers albumsIf there’s a particular age where you’ve earned the right to settle into a particular style, then the mid-to-late 70s is probably it. Yet, MAD!, Sparks‘ 28th studio album, seems to arrive during a particularly fruitful creative period for Ron and Russell Mael.
Tune-Yards - Better Dreaming

2 weeks ago | musicomh.com | John Murphy |John Murphy

Rediscovering what made her such an exciting prospect in the first place, there’s a freshness and exuberance to Merrill Garbus’s sixth outingIt’s hard to believe that Tune-Yards (or, as they were slightly infuriatingly stylised back then, tUnE-yArDs) have now been around for over 15 years. In those early days, Tune-Yards was simply Merrill Garbus, a collection of instruments and a set of loop pedals, which resulted in some lo-fi but exhilarating records, such as 2009’s debut Bird Brains.
Billy Nomates - Metal Horse

3 weeks ago | musicomh.com | John Murphy

Tor Maries’ third album is testimony to the fact that whatever doesn’t kill you does indeed make you strongerA fairground is a decent metaphor for life. Full of rides that are sometimes scary, but sometimes fun. They’re unpredictable, and you’re never quite sure what sort of times you’re going to have. In the end, you have to jump on the ride and see what happens. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Ezra Furman - Goodbye Small Head

3 weeks ago | musicomh.com | John Murphy

There’s an urgency coursing through this startling album’s veins that confirms its creator to be one of the most exciting songwriters around It’s been three years since Ezra Furman released the concluding half of her trilogy of albums – beginning with the remarkable Transangelic Exodus, continuing with the short, scrappy Twelve Nudes and ending with All Of Us Flames, an album that was probably the best of Furman’s career to date.