Discography

Tracking the new album (“Only The Strong Will Survive”, dropping Jan. 19th 2021) at Loud Sun Studio in Jaffrey, NH. CLICK THE IMAGE TO DONATE TO MY ALBUM PRODUCTION COSTS THROUGH PAYPAL!

Only The Strong Will Survive (2021)

THE NEW ALBUM WILL BE RELEASED ON TUESDAY JANUARY 19TH!!! STAY TUNED FOR LINKS TO BUY THROUGH BANDCAMP!

After a long 4 years of heavy touring and focusing on the live performance side of the music business, Michael Francis McCarthy is back with a full-length studio release, due for release on Tuesday, January 19th 2021. Written from 2017-2020, these songs draw from a familiar tapestry of American roots music influences, diving deeper into the sounds that have defined this unique artist over the course of his life. From pensive solo acoustic instrumental tracks to rich, full-sounding metal-influenced tracks featuring drums, electric guitars and layered harmonized vocals, this record showcases McCarthy’s broad range as a performer who is equally at home in quiet solo acoustic confessional ballads and high-energy, free-wheeling roots/jam/thrash/folklore epics.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO “ONLY THE STRONG WILL SURVIVE”

Artwork by friend and fellow Jaffrey, New Hampshire native, artist Christopher Myott

Migrant (2016)

Recorded in 4 studios in 3 states over the course of 18 months, “Migrant” (2016) is a collection of road songs, including 8 original compositions and 7 covers. These songs were in heavy rotation in live performances from 2014-2016 and you can hear the echoes of the road in the recordings, which feature three drummers, multiple guitar tones, experimental hand percussion, charango (a Bolivian 10-stringed instrument descended from the lute) and several recording formats including live band recordings, overdubbed layered tracks and raw solo acoustic. McCarthy toured the material from “Migrant” for 4 years, playing over 600 shows in Texas, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire (and also Connecticut, but please don’t tell anybody. Fuckin’ Connecticut).

Listen on BandCamp…and buy the album!

[you can click on the song titles to listen]

1.

Prologue 00:38

2.

At Home With Animal 02:36

3.

Green Grasshopper 02:24

4.

Songo Y Nanasga 03:14 (Savia Andina)

5.

Blue Angels 03:12

6.

Leave The Porch Light On 04:43

7.

Marry Me Away 02:14

8.

Corrina 03:50 (traditional)

9.

Kill The Old Grey Mule 04:02 (Belton Sutherland)

10.

All Blues 04:24 (Miles Davis)

11.

Compound Bow 02:52 (co-written with Christopher Myott)

12.

Done Got Old / Nobody But You 04:52 (Junior Kimbrough)

13.

Pastures Of Plenty 04:05 (Woody Guthrie)

14.

Ain't No More Cane 02:34 (traditional)

15.

Sgt. MacKenzie 04:16 (Joseph Kilna Mackenzie)

From The Shadow Of A Mountain (2014)

“From The Shadow Of A Mountain” (2014) was Michael Francis McCarthy’s debut full length studio production following the 2012 release of his first demo. Strains of John Lee Hooker and Woody Guthrie collide in a collection of songs about the mind of the Yankee hippie metalhead hermit looking out at the world from the shadow of a mountain. Written during a 6 month convalescence from a car accident, mostly in front of a roaring fire looking out the window into the bleak New Hampshire woods in dead of winter, this album features solo acoustic guitar, fully produced tracks with drums and vocal/guitar overdubs, a few covers and 12 original compositions drawing from influences ranging across the wider pan-American roots music diaspora.