John Murry is more than just your regular songwriter. His stories are luscious and evocative, bringing to life imagery, ideas, and intrigue with each track. He’s hilarious, but in an awfully dark way. On his third album, the singer-songwriter showcases his maturity and experience like never before. Combining a lyrical poise with sonic melodies akin to a bright ray of moonlight on a dark and dreary night, he manages to strike a chord straight through the heart of a listener. . Coming six years after Murry left the US for Ireland, The Stars Are God’s Bullet Holes is the result of a period of stability, though in Murry’s case it’s all relative. “I think a lot of what we call contentment is delusional,” he observes. His voice, like a river cascading cautiously down a thin stream, is one of an old soul. It’s got a bit of Lou Reed in it, that slow reassuring old soul who sings like he’s reciting poetry melodically.
Few openers have grabbed my attention as promptly as ‘Oscar Wilde (Came Here To Make Fun Of You)’. It’s not just the name, which in all fairness is stupendous, but Murry’s wholly unique voice. As he recites the titular lyrics with a beautifully understated backup singer, ‘Oscar Wilde came here to make fun of you, to dress well and play rich, why the hell can’t I do the same’, it’s impossible to not get sucked in. The same sense of comforting pleasure you might get from hearing a documentary narrated by a voice like Morgan Freeman or Scottie Pippen, you get from listening to Murry sing.
And then the titular track takes a sharp U-turn, switching the vibe entirely. Using a distorted hard rock riff, Murry’s slightly echoed voice seems slightly out of place at first, but the contrast of his soothing vocals set against the backdrop of a mountainous and messy riff create an endearing sense of anxious anguish. “Of course I’d die for you, You’d watch me, wouldn’t you?”. If that isn’t brilliantly grim and shockingly fun, I don’t know what is. Spare a moment to just appreciate the imagery and metaphor of the title itself. We often look at the sky in amazement, in sheer wonder at the starry skies above us. But Murry flips that script on its head with his nihilistic and frankly, realistic approach.
That might not make too much sense, but you have to listen to it to believe me. ‘Ones + Zeros’ uses a consoling piano backdrop to mask the pain behind the lyrics. ‘I wish I was dead, I wish it weren’t me’. The final song is also a worthwhile mention here, an ominous foreboding pervades the distorted guitar here. His sardonic attitude towards the world is critical but appreciative all at once. The Stars Are God’s Bullet Holes is not your typical singer-songwriter album. It’s one that compels you to fall in and bask yourself in its every minute, allowing you to then emerge with a much more nuanced attitude towards the world you find yourself in.
And for all its little oddities, it’s comically glum lyrics, and Murry’s mollifying voice, it is, without a doubt, a Special One. Go check the full album wherever you’d like your music, and on the special ones playlist!
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