Dessie Magee is a Brighton-based artist who returns to our blog with a full band sound for new album The Flat Circle.

By Graeme Smith

As a solo artist, Dessie has featured on our blog twice before, but not since 2018. Now he’s returned with a band in tow. Joining Dessie are Ed Bell on bass, Joe McGeogh on drums and Ed Lee on lead guitar. The four found each other through Brighton’s open mic scene. Together they mix folk and rock in the vein of Kings of Leon, and have played with big names like Van Morrison and The Wombats.

Their new album The Flat Circle opens with soul-searching intro track Graceless. Understatedly powerful verses are crowned by Dessie’s gritty vocals before things become soaring in the chorus. Following it is There Be Wolves, which immediately gives us a different side of their sound thanks to its lively, cantering tempo, and duetting vocals with Ebony Grace. It’s an early highlight.

From there we get the emotional Restrain. Opening gently, it builds inevitably to a cathartic climax. Welcome then rounds off the early listening with a stirring, introspective folk number before lively instrumental vignettes Ghosts and Gone provide the bridge to the rest of the album’s story.

With The Devil keeps things lively with a punchy, slow-building arrangement that combines moody folk with bluesy rock before Life Design slows things back down with a stirringly vulnerable moment. Stick With The Times makes great use of loud/quiet contrast. Week to Week and Maze are driving and triumphant. Bandit closes things with reflection, honesty and self-acceptance.

Dessie Magee & The Dead Strings wear their collective hearts on their sleeves with their new album and deliver its emotional tale with confidence and a timeless sound. Their Irish roots and American rock influences come to the fore in a collection that has something for everyone.

The Flat Circle was produced in Dessie’s bedroom above a pub in central Brighton. It’s out now and you can check it out below.