The Black Maria, O EP was released a month ago on Bring Your Own Hammer, operating as an imprint or partner of Dimple Discs, the independent label run by Damian O'Neill (The Undertones, That Petrol Emotion) and Brian O'Neill (not related).
To pinch their own promo blurb, "Bring Your Own Hammer is not a band, a group, an ensemble or even a collective. If anything, it is a faction but unlike nineteenth-century factions, who met, armed with sticks and wattles in fairs and markets, it is armed with voices and instruments and dedicated, as no faction before, to the re-interpretation of historical material in song form."
In practice, this has meant a series of quality releases since 2022, featuring a compelling roster of artists including Cathal Coughlan, Brigid Mae Power, James Yorkston and Michael J. Sheehy.
The lead song, The Black Maria, pairs Luke Haines with Mike Smalle, whilst the EP closes with Saucy Dogs, Mike again joined by previous collaborator Jah Wobble..
Five quid well spent for 4 cracking songs that breathe new life into old words, in the grand storytelling tradition.
Speaking of the Undertones I was watching a distinctly average covers band on Saturday afternoon in a pub in Devon when the Irish singer introduced a cover of 'Teenage Kicks' with the immortal line - 'This song was written by someone north of the border....Somerset'...
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