ADOPTED at birth. Raised in Tupelo, Mississippi. Troubled by undiagnosed autism. Prescribed medication led to unprescribed medication, addiction, mental health issues and being institutionalised.

This is but the first chapter of John Murry’s eventful life that has led to A Short History Of Decay, his second album, whose release on TV Records is being accompanied by a tour that that sends him and his two drummers to The Basement at City Screen on Wednesday for his York debut.

“It amazes me that people think I’m so dark; I think I’ll have to make a dance record next,” says Murry, who now lives in divorced exile in Kilkenny, Ireland. “People really don’t know me, so when I read reviews where I’m being eulogised, it’s funny, as they’re saying things that are not true.”

What is true is that Murry lost his wife, his daughter, his marriage, temporarily his freedom and ultimately his country as he moved to Ireland in the wake of Tim Mooney, his mentor, bedrock and producer of his first album, 2012’s The Graceless Age, dying suddenly and unexpectedly.

The death hit him so hard that Murry’s world spiralled back into the chaos that first led him heroin and near fatal overdose on the corner of 16th and Mission, as charted in his 2012 song Little Colored Balloons.

The Graceless Age had been named in Mojo and Uncut magazines’ top ten albums of that year, but Murry’s descent only abated once he left America in Ireland and found a welcoming arts community in Kilkenny. “I miss my daughter; she’s in America; I’m in Ireland, and the only thing I can say about it is, it was for the best, even though it’s horrid for me. It’s better for her to be there,” he says. “She knows why I had to leave... and what really matters is her wellbeing.”

Through this interview, Murry mentioned his daughter, now 13, on numerous occasions, often unprompted by any question. “I’ve heard her listening to my songs, when she doesn’t know I know she’s listening!” he says. “She’s in competition with me. She thinks most people who have written things are wrong and says, ‘I think you’re one of the goofiest people I’ve met’.”

Others would not agree, most notably producer Michael Timmins, the Cowboy Junkies musician. “On The Graceless Age you can hear John’s affinity to artists such as Mark Linkous [Sparklehorse] and Mark Lanegan, but seeing him on stage, with just his guitar and his songs reminded me of Townes Van Zandt, that raw-boned, exquisite beauty, so real that it borders on the uncomfortable, you feel you should look away, but it’s just too compelling to do so. The pain, the intensity, the honesty just draws you deeper,” he said.

Timmins encouraged Murry to travel to his Toronto studio where he had assembled a band of drummer Peter Timmins and bassist Josh Finlayson; Murry brought along Cait O’Riordan, once of The Pogues, and A Short History Of Decay came together in five intense days, wherein Murry charted his fall from grace and addressed his shortcomings and flaws.

For this reason, the album is deemed to be dark, grief-stricken and preoccupied with mortality, but wit shines through that darkness. “A lot of people I know or are close to me think the record is funny," says Murry.

Please Please You presents John Murry, supported by Boss Caine, The Basement, York, Wednesday, 8pm. Box office: pleasepleaseyou.com, from The Basement or from Jumbo Records, Leeds.