Music For Messy Humans – We Are Messengers Keep It Real [Audio]

“The thing that our audience has responded to is that we don’t pretend to be something we’re not, and we don’t want to settle for average music.”

For Darren Mulligan life has changed course a number of times.  The We Are Messengers founder and front man told 96five that life doesn’t always end up spitting you out where you thought you’d end up.

“Before I had faith most of the mess of my life was self-imposed; it was through drunkenness, violence and adultery that I tried to find meaning and happiness.  It always eluded me and I went down paths I should never have went down.”

While on tour with another band in the US, Heidi – his now wife had an encounter with Jesus and started exploring faith and attending church.

“Eleven years ago she was the catalyst for a massive change in our lives; we had no hope before and now we have hope.”

Having lived what some see as the wild life previously, Darren is passionate about being authentic and having real conversations.  He’s passionate about reaching those outside the church with his music, with a message that no one’s perfect and that we’re all messy human beings.

“That’s why we write these songs, to remind people that there’s a certain amount of grace that you’ve received, in turn you need to afford that grace to everyone, not just the people you want to.  You can’t love with an agenda.”

Self Belief and the DIY Approach

The band have just released their second album, and Darren said that although they enjoyed some massive breakout success in 2016, there was no resting on their laurels.  Casting normal protocols to the side, they set themselves an even bigger challenge by producing the album themselves from go to whoa.

“It’s all done in house, so this album sounds really different to the first record.  This one sounds and feels really different to the first one but that’s because we wrote and recorded the songs how we wanted to do it.  It feels natural and is a very true and honest representation of who we are as people.”

‘Power’ traverses a wide range of topics, from love songs to wives, to the counter cultural life, and reminders that we don’t need to be so hard on ourselves.  But for Darren there’s one Gaelic tinged track that jumps out as a personal favourite.

“The song ‘Home’ relates to not knowing where I belong anymore, but that I’m a citizen of heaven.”

And with the prevalence of singles and the music streaming culture, Darren hopes that people take the time to really sit down and take in the music in an old fashioned way.

“Put the record on, get yourself a cup of tea and listen to it from start to finish.  It tells the story of our past two years as messy human beings trying to live this life out.”

Power is out now through Curb Records.