Major Murphy, have returned with a new song “Mary” on Winspear. The three-piece – guitarist, vocalist, and lead songwriter Jacob Bullard, bassist and vocalist Jacki Warren, and drummer Brian Voortman – builds on two previous EPs and a love of classic rock ballads to write one of their own. The song’s laid back, ‘70s AM radio influence is specific, but who is this “Mary”?

“Mary in this song represents innocence and naivety,” says Bullard. “The singer is in transit (“standing on a corner, standing on a line”) and appeals to Mary to guide them through an unfair and complicated world.” Expect more from the trio in Spring 2018.

Jacob Bullard (vocals/guitar), Jacki Warren (bass/backing vocals), and Brian Voortman (drums) live in a house just east of downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan called Casa Lafayette. In this charming, Victorian-era house converted into a small apartment building, they write and record music for their band, Major Murphy. Luckily for them, the units above and below their apartment are filled with friends and like-minded creatives, supportive of the 70’s inspired rock ballads being churned out on a regular basis.

‘On & Off Again’ is the follow-up to Major Murphy’s 2015 four-song debut, ‘Future Release’. The new EP finds lead singer and songwriter, Jacob Bullard, hashing out variations on a familiar theme. The EP fixates itself on recycling chord progressions and melodies. Throughout the 6 song track-list the two video singles, “On & Off” and “Oceans” both have instrumental counterparts: “On & Off Again”, showcasing a chilled-out tempo and atmosphere, and the sprawling jam, “Over Everything” expanding in effervescent layers of psychedelia.

Major Murphy’s first EP was recorded before they had ever formally played a show, but in the months following its release, the band hit the road and begin playing out regularly. These shows gave Major Murphy a new perspective and confidence to their music. The title, ‘On & Off Again’, speaks to the familiar cycle of touring only to return home and fall into the doldrums of a day job, and the EP’s sound demonstrates the trio having discovered themselves and their songs out on the road.