Mighty Mighty, Misheard Love Songs - taster EP review
Birmingham 80s indie stars Mighty Mighty have returned with a four-track EP, released on Berlin's Firestation Records, to tease a longer album version also out this month.
It's their first original material recorded in more than 30 years since their initial split in the late 80s after a single full-length release - Sharks.
One of the acts included on the much-loved and revered NME C86 cassette that was releases in May 1986 - Primal Scream, The Mighty Lemon Drops, Half Man Half Biscuit and The Wedding Present also made the cut - they had a brief but successful dalliance with fame after impressing John Peel.
After reforming, they've been playing the odd gig and releasing sporadic compilations due to modern geographical differences. But now they've decided to return with this mostly-new release laid down at Muthers in Digbeth.
It's been a real journey over the past three years to get it done. They've recorded when they can. Members have battled illness. And there has been a great deal of loss. The Geoghegan brothers - Mick and Pete - lost their mother having also seen their father pass away during the recording of Sharks in 1987. Then, Hugh McGuinness and Russell Burton both lost their fathers. But they persevered.
It must be a relief, then, to finally have it out there.
The sometimes breezy indie romps on this taster EP are softly-spoken delights full of delicate melodies and swooning vocals from McGuinness.
The track Everything sounds most like this. It sounds like that time of the night where everyone stumbles around after the pubs kick out. Dark yet full of mischief, the keys and drums work well together to give off the feeling of that staggered stomp home.
READ MORE: Birmingham's Mighty Mighty coming back with a new album
There's uplifting vibes in Weather Girl. Sunshine and fun are the orders of the day as DJ Hennessy's stick work keeps things ticking along nicely while the guitars chime in conversation over the top of McGuinness' deep voice.
Those The Smiths vibes they have joked about previously are there, particularly with the similarities in McGuinness' and Morrisey's voices displayed in the sweeping Lying To You. The pained guitar melody that comes in post-chorus is a real highlight.
The opener Where Would I Be? is very Richard Hawley too with the velvety vocals over a wistful tune that yearns for summers past.
Rating: 6/10
Mighty Mighty will play their home venue The Hare & Hounds in King's Heath on October 16. Tickets are available here. For more details on the full album, follow @MightyMighty_ on Twitter.
