A while back, someone sent me a little four-song EP by Father Murphy called No Room For The Weak. Father Murphy’s style of post-rock is hypnotic and orchestral, and it borders on folk much like that of Thee Silver Mt. Zion. But it’s more abrasive with hints of outlandishness; it’s eerie and near psychotic at times. That’s why it’s been sitting dormant for a month or two — I needed to get in the right frame of mind to play it.
On No Room For The Weak, Father Murphy’s songs have a domineering presence, dark and mysterious. And it has the shock factor present in virtually everything Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart touches. In the eight-minute opener, “We Now Pray With Two Hands, We Now Pray With Anger”, the Italian band chants amidst an echoing strum of guitar chords for a full three minutes before expanding it to include heavy drum beats and a higher-pitched wail.
“You Got Worry” stands out from the rest with dissonant harmony vocals provided by both sexes and larger orchestration, and “There Is A War” includes a haunting midsection featuring spoken word.
No matter how you look at it, it’s eerie. It’s as if a group of mountain-dwelling monks experienced a collective schizophrenic breakdown and decided, also collectively, to create cohesive experimental records. It’s creepy as hell, but boy is it good!
You can find the EP in 10-inch format on Aagoo Records.
Listen: “You Got Worry” by Father Murphy
[audio:110110-father-murphy-you-got-worry.mp3|titles=You Got Worry|artists=Father Murphy]
1. We Now Pray With Two Hands, We Now Pray With True Anger
2. Until The Path Is No Longer
3. You Got Worry
4. There Is A War
