Michael J. Sheehy

• Genre: Folk

About

Sheehy was formerly the singer/guitarist of Dream City Film Club, a gloomy, doom-filled band of the Nick Cave variety. Not much has changed since then, and that's a good thing. Sheehy's no hack or wannabe; he's a damn fine songwriter capable of throwing out songs that are breathtaking in their beauty and startling in their austerity. He can touch your heart with only a guitar and his restrained, gorgeous voice. Then it's off to Experimental land, with looped, percussive noise, vague melodies and unemotional spoken word pieces about what happens when we get very, very scared. Other tunes are fleshed out with vibes, rolling drumbeats, noisy guitars and searing harmonica lines. In "Oh Sweet Jesus" Sheehy successfully creates a Post-Punk gospel tune that oozes abrasion as he searches for redemption. In surprising songs such as "Love Me," he sings with refreshing simplicity and straightforwardness about his feelings and intentions after catching his lover with another woman. A fearless, intelligent and unique singer-songwriter.

- Will Lerner