ROCK | The Mighty Stef

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Dublin-based rock quartet The Mighty Stef doesn't perform Irish music per se, but it appears steeped in Anglo-Celtic literary traditions. At least, that was my impression before it was crushed when frontman Stefan Murphy noted in a phone interview with CITY Newspaper that his lyrics were not inspired by those great books. The Mighty Stef's debut album, "The Sins of Sainte Catherine," spins tales of lovers, pirates, sinners — songs anchored by Murphy's deep voice. Murphy brings to mind Nick Cave while his bandmates provide a Bad Seeds-like texture. The Mighty Stef's new album "Year of The Horse" produced by Alain Johannes (Queens of The Stone Age) dropped in August. Murphy says this record, "shows the maturity of the songwriting, the maturity of the sonic landscape. It sounds closer to our dream of what we set out to sound like in the beginning."

The Mighty Stef performs Thursday, August 28, at The Bug Jar, 219 Monroe Ave. 7:30 p.m. $7-$9. Bugjar.com; Themightystef.net.