Michael J. Sheehy & The Hired Mourners - 'Full Moon, Empty Belly' / 'Don't Put Yourself Beyond The Reach Of Love' : new single by London-based singer-songwriter out today

Michael J. Sheehy has been making records for almost three decades, initially as founder and mouthpiece of mid-'90s cult band Dream City Film Club, then as a solo artist and frontman of rootsy garage rock act Miraculous Mule. He has toured with the likes of Kristin Hersh, Tindersticks, John Cale and Peter Murphy, while his songs have been utilised in films such as ‘Intimacy’ and the TV show ‘Deadwood’.

Following a six-year hiatus, Sheehy has just announced a 5th June release for ‘Don't We Deserve Some Kind of Love?’, his seventh solo album but first for Dimple Discs, with two songs from it, ‘Full Moon, Empty Belly’ and ‘Don’t Put Yourself Beyond The Reach Of Love' being issued as a AA-sided single today (20th March).

“Sometimes when I’m writing lyrics I try to stay out of my own way and let the words go where they will,” explains Sheehy. For ‘Full Moon, Empty Belly' he thought his protagonist was a werewolf wondering what the night had in store for him. It was only much later, listening back to his original demo, that he was reminded of a period in his early 20s when, grappling with an eating disorder and a compulsion to self-harm, he was admitted to the Royal Free Hospital, streets away from Kentish Town in north London where he grew up. “I guess my subconscious chose the werewolf as a metaphor and it’s kind of perfect, the idea of curse, dysmorphia and lanugo (a condition where fine hair grows all over the body to compensate for lack of body fat in sufferers of anorexia),” he adds. A live video for the song can be seen HERE.

Accompanying himself on piano, 'Don’t Put Yourself Beyond The Reach Of Love’ sees Sheehy mourn the loss of an estranged friend rendered a recluse by his own addiction. Urging the choice of love and companionship over isolation and loneliness, he intones “It’s OK to be frightened” at the top of his register and a holy shiver leaves the speaker and travels all the way down your spine.

DON’T WE DESERVE SOME KIND OF LOVE

further album information

In exploring themes of addiction, recovery, forgiveness, love, loss and the search for identity, it brings into sharp focus a shift in perspective that began with its 2020 predecessor, ‘Distance Is The Soul Of Beauty’. "I got sober in 2012 and after 20 years of heavy drinking there was a lot of damage and debris that needed to be addressed,” explains Sheehy. “For two years I didn't write a single song. I was seeking out who I could be without drink and drugs. I'd spent two decades upending anything that resembled stability and writing about what a fucking shambles I was. I had always written for and about people for whom life is an ordeal and it almost always came from the bottom of a half-empty glass."

Sheehy became a father in 2017 and, slowly but surely, the songs started to flow again. For the first time, tiny chinks of light began to shine through the cracks of his often weighty songs. "I'm still writing for the same people, but my perspective has shifted. Rather than reflecting the misery through the songs and the way I live my life, I'm trying to offer hope, humour and hard-won wisdom.”

‘Don’t We Deserve Some Kind Of Love?' features contributions from Fiona Brice (violin), Sandy Mill (backing vocals), Ian Burns (drums) and Patrick McCarthy (guitar). It was recorded at home over a five-year period while Sheehy was a stay-at-home father and working evenings at a bar in Camden, north London.

MICHAEL J. SHEEHY 2026 biography by Pete Paphides

DON’T WE DESERVE SOME KIND OF LOVE?TRACKLIST

Side A

1 Like Blood on Snow

2 Full Moon, Empty Belly

3 Don't Put Yourself Beyond The Reach Of Love

4 You Better Take Everything

5 Pure Deep Water

Side B

1 Only Drinking In My Dreams

2 If I Had Known It Was The Last Time

3 The Left Hand Don't Need To Know

4 Don't We Deserve Some Kind Of Love?

5 Tiny Blessings