A Dublin-born, stylistically restless but fundamentally punk troubadour, Stefan Murphy emerged in the early ’00s under the moniker The Mighty Stef, which became a full-band concern around 2007, wrapped up in 2016, and was followed by a short stint as Count Vaseline. Then, in 2019, Murphy met a gentleman by the name of James Mechan, who happened to be Stiff Little Fingers’ guitar tech. That last part is relevant, as any current convert to the band we’re discussing here can testify. And so is the first part, as Mechan wanted to record Murphy at his Nashville studio.
Those plans were derailed by the pandemic but not forgotten when Murphy moved to Nashville in 2022. Work commenced, the pair were joined by Ryan Sweeney (of Cheap Time) on drums and Eli Steele (Sweet Knives) on lead guitar. The result was The Sleeveens, named after an Irish slang for “trixter”…not the earthly type responsible for a plastic Aztec death whistle on your exhaust pipe but rather the otherworldly one that temporarily vanishes the keys to the vehicle.
“National Anthem”, their second album, should and could comfortably sit on the proverbial shelf of rock history next to all-timers with titles like “Even Serpents Shine”, “Eternally Yours”, “All Rise”, “Setting Suns”, “Radios Appear”, Nobody’s Heroes”, “Sorry Ma, I Forgot To Take Out The Trash” and “Rocket To Russia.”
The Fat Angel Sings 