Miracle Legion - Portrait of a Damaged Family review: final album finally sees the light

Portrait of a damaged Family
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Artist: Miracle Legion
Genre: Rock
Label: Mezzotint

One of rock'n'roll's more interesting what-if stories concerns New England college rock act Miracle Legion and their final album, Portrait of a Damaged Family.

Released 20 years ago, just as the band’s profile was dwindling, the album all but disappeared.

Fast-forward to now, and main songwriter Mark Mulcahy has reconvened the band and re-released the album (via his own label).

It’s fair to say that 20 years ago this would have been seriously out of kilter. Now? With shades of power-pop and broad hints of early influencers (REM, Byrds), there are swathes of good music for a less-cliquish audience.

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Songs such as You're my Blessing, Madison Park, Say I had a Lovely Time, and KKM fuse Peter Buck and Johnny Marr to genuinely stirring effect.

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Tony Clayton-Lea

Tony Clayton-Lea

Tony Clayton-Lea is a contributor to The Irish Times specialising in popular culture