Hailing from the birthplace of the blues and rock and roll, Tupelo native John Murry pours a lifetime of hurt and pain into the songs that make up this striking debut solo album, The Graceless Age.
Murry's passage through a dark period of his life is painstakingly and vividly documented – his battle with drug addiction and the devastating and painful aftermath is retold with an unflinching candour.
Murry possesses a voice that hints at a ravaged past – a weary, Southern drawl coloured with sadness and regret. Musically, there is nothing groundbreaking on show here – rootsy Americana with obvious country music influences provides the backdrop for Murry's gritty tales. But he imbues these affecting, personal songs with so much of himself that it is difficult to remain indifferent.

Album centrepiece and standout track 'Little Colored Balloons' describes in grim detail a heroin overdose that left Murry clinically dead for several minutes. It starts off as a simple piano ballad before swelling to an emotional climax after almost ten minutes of raw, unremitting pain. This is a song that may well be a career defining one – epic yet intimate at the same time, bearing all the hallmarks of a minor classic.

He is a second cousin of Southern Gothic fiction writer William Faulkner, and that literary heritage is clearly demonstrated in the compelling narrative that runs through these songs.
'If I'm to Blame' seethes with bitterness and frustration as Murry ruminates on the part he played in a broken relationship. 'Southern Sky' is alt-country through and through and about as radio friendly as it gets on this record while 'Things We Lost in the Fire' is a bleak reminder of the high cost we pay for the bad choices we make.

Ultimately The Graceless Age salvages some hope from the debris and destruction that accrues in the illusory world of drug addiction. Murry is still here to tell the tale, but the sadness that underpins these songs is an acknowledgement that we never fully escape from that world without paying a high price.

Only time will tell whether The Graceless Age heralds the arrival of a new and important voice in American popular culture. Right now it feels like a landmark album, a bold and brutal exposition of a side of life we do our best to sidestep on a daily basis.