Miracle Legion Whips Up Frenzy at Bogart’s

On its current album, “Me and Mr. Ray,” Miracle Legion, a group led by Mark J. Mulcahy and Ray Neal, plays soft-pedal sounds suited for introspective neo-folkies living on double espressos and tattered copies of Camus. So it was a surprise when the Connecticut-based band (now a quartet) exploded on stage Friday at Bogart’s in Long Beach with a refreshing surge of post-punkisms. Even if it’s not 100% focused yet, this is a group behind a wide-angle lens that takes in a slew of styles in its sights.

Singer Mulcahy, looking as if he could be a cousin to Tiny Tim, occasionally overdid the “Look ma, I’m eccentric” routine, but his raspy tone and gliding phrases recall the emotional purity of Van Morrison. Guitarist Neal, a bundle of raw intensity and Yankee ingenuity, transformed simple riffs into power cycles by dint of fierce commitment.

Not all the songs work--some are too arch, others too enigmatic--but Miracle Legion’s hard edginess and sweet poetic whimsy are a bright light in the increasingly dim field of independent non-metallic American bands.