The Mulligan Brothers made their first appearance as a band in NYC last night and it was every bit as good as I thought it would be when I requested Hill Country Barbecue Market bring them in. The lyrics lead singer Ross Newell incorporates into his songs are like nothing else in music today. “Sensible Shoes,” a trip through the night life of Mobile, is mesmerizing.
“This place is beautiful the way it mystifies its bad/just like if Norman Rockwell painted a methamphetamine lab/All our consciences are busted. They’re off doing their own thing/They’d rather make their living some place else by any other means/They say everyone who’s climbed on top this city’s soapbox/has leaped from it to their death, son/Of this I am sure I’m no exception”
Their whole first album is like that. Lyrics that utilize complex rhymes to make thought-provoking points. The band said their new album is planned for a Dec. 10 release, though they didn’t sound totally sure about that. They were my second best album of last year only behind Brandy Clark’s masterful debut and I was glad to be able to see them after wanting to for more than a year. They’re also incredibly friendly people. Here’s to hoping they fly.
Country Pocket 