Historians and indie songwriters examine 19th-century criminal history in new premiere

Bring Your Own Hammer returns with “The Black Maria, O”, an unholy historical alliance between Luke Haines and Mike Smalle. Marking a premiere for retrofuturista.com, this new single hit digital platforms via Dimple Discs on September 18, accompanied by a stark animated film by visual artist Jules Hackett.

Title: The Black Maria, O
Artist: Luke Haines Mike Smalle
Release Date: 2026-09-18
Genres: Folk Rock, Indie Rock
Label: Dimple Discs
Description: Luke Haines and Mike Smalle release The Black Maria O on Dimple Discs September 18. Historical song cycle previews double album From The Tombs.

The track excavates an 1887 song of the same name, penned by Irish-American lyricist Edward Harrigan and composer David Braham for the New York musical comedy “McNooney’s Visit”. Haines and Smalle hijack the original late-19th-century lyrics—riddled with period underworld slang like “Black Maria” for police wagons and references to the infamous Blackwell Island prison near Manhattan—and drop them into a raw, contemporary musical frame.

This release serves as a preview for “From The Tombs”, a 21-song double album exploring 19th-century crime and justice across Ireland and its diaspora. It follows “My Grief on the Sea”, a maritime-themed collection dedicated to the late Cathal Coughlan, who participated in the initiative.

Far from a standard band or collective, Bring Your Own Hammer operates as an armed-with-instruments faction of musicians and scholars. Curated by Dr. Richard Mc Mahon (MIC, Limerick / Institute of Criminology, Cambridge) with historical support from Dr. Niall Whelehan (University of Strathclyde), the project constructs original song cycles directly from primary historical archives.

Luke Haines, veteran of The Auteurs, Baader Meinhof, and Black Box Recorder, recently published the books “Bad Vibes – Britpop” and “My Part in Its Downfall”, and released his solo album “Izzy Wizzy Let’s Get Busy” via Cherry Red Records.

Mike Smalle, operating out of western Ireland, has released music under aliases such as Cane141, Augustus & John, and B-Movie Lightning, alongside his 2021 solo LP “Pagan Pulse”. His past collaborative track record includes work with Cathal Coughlan, Jah Wobble (read our interview with Jah Wobble), Simon Fisher Turner (read our interview with Simon Fisher Turner), and Mark Eitzel.

In addition to this single, Smalle spearheaded the album’s title track, “From The Tombs”, backed by a lineup featuring June Miles-Kingston, Bernard Butler, Fergal Lawler, Marcus Holdaway, Ian Catt, and Terry Edwards. Smalle and Haines pull off a masterclass in sinister charm, converting dusty, forgotten archival lyrics into a modern pop-noir triumph that hits with real force.

The wider double album features contributions from Adrian Crowley (who performs the single “Quinn the Adventurer”), Sean O’Hagan, Audrey Riley, Cian Nugent, Linda Buckley, Tony Higgins, SJ McArdle, Michael Walsh, Lisa Lambe, Miriam Ingram, Hugh Bunker, Damian O’Neill, Brigid Mae Power, Anne Gilpin, Lavinia Blackwall, Inni-K, NQL, Kelsey Michael, Neil Farrell, and Michael J. Sheehy.

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