Michael J Sheehy - 'Donkey Ride (Straight To Hell)' (Beggars Banquet)
4/5
By: Thomas Hannan
Let's give a warm welcome for the return of the storyteller to popular music. Although the art of gravely-voiced men telling tales which actually feature a beginning, middle and an end has, of course, been conducted many times before, it's such a rare occurrence on today's scene that it makes Michael J Sheehy seem like he's pioneering a whole new style.
According to Sheehy himself, his brilliantly comic and frighteningly dark new single is simply 'Dumb but fun. A typical 'woman leaves man for another man who is hung like a horse, injured party pulls his wire to near blindness' kind of story.' The plot for a punk-pop song, you may anticipate? No - despite this being an accurate sketch of the narrative, his statement doesn't come close to doing the black comedy on display enough justice.
To say that Sheehy looks like a convict, knocks out sounds similar to the brilliance of Tom Waits, circa 'Mule Variations', and sings as if he's on trial for murder will give you an idea of the bleakness at play on 'Donkey Ride (Straight To Hell)'. An addictive and persistent bass-line forms the basis of the track, which couples gospel vocals focusing on hell instead of heaven, with Sheehy's distinct bourbon-soaked tale of lost love to conjure the sound of the singer's personal decline to the underworld.
It's not his approach or subject-matter that make him stand out from the pack; rather, it's his diverse influences, the way that his both comforting and anxious voice at times makes him sound incredibly sinister - or just the fact that he can use the words 'eight inch schlong' in a track without sounding like an idiot. Whatever it is, let's all hope Michael never made it all the way into Hades, and will be around to tell us unsettling bedtime stories for a while to come.
Artists in this article: Michael J Sheehy
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