Cursed Murphy: Republic of the Weird review - Literary dystopia in the modern age

There is a lot to be said for being weird. This eight-piece Wexford collective’s second album picks up where their 2020 debut – an articulate blend of skewed cabaret, discordant punk and an erudite lyric sheet – left off. This time, author and spoken-word artist Peter “Cursed” Murphy is exploring themes of kooky dystopia in the modern age, but setting them against personal tales that fleetingly incorporate melancholia and a steely sense of optimism.

They come out of the traps all guns blazing on the opening triptych: the quiet, menacing Nick Cave-like snarl of Something Wicked This Way Comes, the burbling kookiness of the title track and the clipped, shady rock ‘n’ roll rollick of Hold That Line, which explodes in a fiery outburst of Nine Inch Nails-style guitars. It’s easy to ascertain Murphy’s literary background; most of these songs are exceedingly visual, with the quiet intensity of The Agony of the Leaves vividly recounting the painful unravelling of a complicated love affair ahead of a Morricone-esque climax.

The band provide a robust palette for the frontman’s lyrics to hang off, lightening the tone of Borne on Earth and Sometimes You Sing a Sad Song, and galvanising the tracklist with an industrial vigour elsewhere. It’s true that the enjoyably portentous ambience tapers off too early, but there is plenty to cogitate over, regardless. Cursedmurphy.com