The Mighty Stef is something of an anomaly on the current indie-wasteland that is the Irish music scene. His Dublin roots are ever prevalent in his songs’ subject matter, and his gravel-raked twang, so reminiscent of Luke Kelly or Shane MacGowan, belies his tender youth. His last album, The Sins of Sainte Catherine, saw Stef channelling his inner seaman with swashbuckling pirate-punk ballads that stirred up excitement in the soul and made you want to take to the open seas with your wench in tow.
Stef’s latest endeavour, 100 Midnights upon first listen might feel a touch too polished for fans of his original incarnation. Mixed and mastered in Philadelphia, the album certainly flirts with genres outside of his comfortable patriotic beginnings. But when you realise that the bubbly, banjo-tinged Sunshine Serenade is, in fact, a paradoxical plea to a junkie friend that commences with the lines “You can stick that dirty needle in your last responsive vein, but don’t let it steal the sunshine from your eyes”, you realise how much Stefan Murphy’s songwriting skills have matured. The ease with which he flits between corny country music and Clash-inspired punk, dusting them with a thick layer of vivid storytelling, almost audibly hears him laugh, ‘Haahaaa… look what I can do!’, but his genuine attentiveness towards his subject matter means that the album stops short of becoming a cocky shrine to his accomplishments. The title track to 100 Midnights is a poignant French lament to the deceased son of a ‘drunken, old French brothel-keeper’ that could easily have been written while lingering mournfully at the gates to the Per Lachaise.
Safe At Home, a passionate duet with Cait O’Riordan that beautifully displays the raw extremities between Stef’s gritty drawl and Cait’s haunting lilt, is easily the standout track on the album. Add to this his collaboration with Shane MacGowan (on Waitin’ Round To Die) and his imminent appearance at SXSW in March and it’s clear to see that The Mighty Stef is no longer a songwriting nipper – he’s playing in the big leagues now.
