EXCLUSIVE: The Marshal Stars sign to Mercury Records

Dublin trio The Marshal Stars have signed to Mercury Records imprint Vertigo.

The deal was inked within a week of the company's A&R director Richard O'Donovan flying in to see the band's December 3 gig in Connolly's of Leap.

Not ones to waste time, Michael Cavanaugh (vocals/guitar), James O'Brien (bass) and Barry Dillon (drums) are already hard at work on their debut album in Westmeath's Grouse Lodge Studios.

Says a Vertigo A&R source: "The Marshal Stars play visceral alt rock with grunge and blues leanings and play it well. Michael's voice is distinctive and memorable commanding a range comparable to Matt from Muse or Jeff Buckley but with meaty bass undertones. The Marshal Stars are above all a songs band and shouldn't be stuck for singles on their forthcoming album."

Signing with Vertigo means that the band are labelmates of Metallica, The Rapture, Razorlight, The Black Velvets and Derry hopefuls Red Organ Serpent Sounds.

You can see – and hear – what all the fuss is about on January 14 when they play a free gig in Dublin's Temple Bar Music Centre.

Hot Press will also be profiling The Marshal Stars in our first issue of 2005, out on January 13.