July 7, 2005
Stone Clover are a Celtic rock party band straight outta Detroit Celtic-rock City. Stone Clover have been drinking’n’rocking and fiddling since 2009 though Proper Villains is I believe their debut studio album. Influences I hear include hometown hero’s the relocated Flogging Molly, the Young Dubliners and the Americana fiddle rock of Lexington Field. I also hear some strong Beatles-ish melodies woven in. A solid album and I look forward to hearing a lot more from Stone Clover.
May 28, 2015
Mr. Irish Bastard from Münster, Germany have the greatest name in all of Celtic-punk. If that name doesn’t get across what Celtic-punk is I don’t know what does. The World, The Flesh & The Devil, the Bastard’s latest full-length is a great example of the genre – fast, punkie and spitting attitude. Obviously Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys are big influences but I also hear the Levellers. Strangely enough I wouldn’t compare Mr. Irish Bastard directly to their German brethren (The Porters, Auld Corn Brigade or Muirsheen Durkin and Friends) but to their Scandinavian cousins such as Greenland Whalefishers, Finnegan’s Hell and especially Sir Reg.
The World, The Flesh & The Devil is a great album with lots of highlights but specifically;
I Hope They Sell Beer In Hell, which is straight outta the Bon Scott school of optimism
The charming Fuck You My Darling
and even a song about me, Ballad of a Work Shy Man
April 30, 2015
Sober and Godless is the long overdue follow up to The Rumjacks classic debut, Gangs of New Holland. We’re happy to report that Sober and Godless is a phenomenal follow up. The Rumjacks stick to their Celtic-punk roots though I would say rock hard and faster then on the debut. Nice to hear the reggae influence working it’s way into back into the band’s sound (long time fans will of course be familiar with the reggae groove on their two EPs).
Frankie McLaughlin is one hell of a great song writer and lyricist and the band tight, very tight. If you haven’t heard the the Rumjack think a 21st century Clash Meets Flogging Molly (then again if you haven’t heard the Rumjacks what are you even doing on this site? Feck-off.) If you loved Gangs of New Holland you will love Sober and Godless. Outstanding.
You’ve a penny, I’ve a pound, let’s get drunk & fuck around,
We’ll barricade the door against the world,
I can’t take another night watchin’ grown men fight,
To music made for teenage girls.
Blows & Unkind Words
April 27, 2015
Millionaires is the second full length release from Continental, Rick Barton’s post Dropkick Murphys vehicle. If your familiar with Rick’s post DKM stuff it’s more of the same – big guitars, big hooks, Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer drinking cheap whiskey and riding boxcars, and not a single bagpipe wail in earshot. The album is on vinyl from the nice folks at East Grand.
April 26, 2005
Not a new release by any shot, but I just got my hands on Whiskey Devils – A Tribute to The Mahones (cheers Finny for passing on). The tribute was put together to celebrate The Mahones 20th anniversary (they just hit 25 years last Paddy’s day). Obviously with a such a strong back catalog there were plenty of classic and seminal Celtic punk songs to choose from and 19 of The Mahones most legendary track are presented here with not a duff version amongst them. I have to call out a few of the tracks as must hears; Drunk Lazy Bastard as interpreted by The Popes (its all bad attitude), Shake Hands With The Devil a frigging incredible almost industrial/metal version by the Bloody Irish Boys, the down and out London by Paul-Ronney Angel and Aaron Chapman‘s lounge lizard sleaze of Cocktail Blue.
The Popes (England) – Drunken Lazy Bastard
The Peelers (Canada) – Rise Again
Brutus’ Daughters (Spain) – Take Me Back
Paul-Ronney Angel (England) – London
Roughneck Riot (England) – Across The USA
Drink Hunters (Spain) – Take No Prisoners
The Vandon Arms (U.S.A.) – Down The Boozer
The Ryan Brothers (Canada) – Streets Of New York
Bastards On Parade (Spain) – Paint The Town Red
The Bloody Irish Boys (U.S.A.) – Shake Hands With The Devil
Aaron Chapman (Canada) – Cocktail Blue
Drunken Dru (Canada) – Is This Bar Open Til’ Tomorrow?
Pladdohg (U.S.A.) – Whiskey Devils
Black Friday (England) – There She Goes
The Gobshites (U.S.A.) – A Drunken Night In Dublin
Hit The Bottle Boys (U.S.A.) – Queen & Tequila
Paddy McCallion (Ireland) – Back Home
Cabor Toss (Canada) – Drunken Lazy Bastard (Live)
Mark Gilligan (Ireland) – Girl With Galway Eyes
February 8, 2015
Despite the somewhat doggy looking Leprechaun cover and the title of this the latest five track EP from Germany’s Muirsheen Durkin and Friends, Drink with the Irish is a very, very good release. The first three tracks are dueling bagpipe’n’punk rock originals and as good as anything coming out of the big boys of the scene. I must give a special mention to “The Pogues and Whiskey”, a stunningly great homage to Kings Cross finest. The two covers are Danny Boy and Loch Lomond, both given the Celtic-punk treatment. A great release and well worth tracking down.
February 8, 2015
Poor ‘ol Tim Finnegan, fell off that ladder and broke his head, work up in a pine box at his own wake, but not this time on Watling Street and who ever spilt that whiskey on him wasn’t one of his nearest and dearest but a hairy looking Swede surrounded by equally mean looking Swedes. Tim Finnegan has found himself in Finnegan’s Hell and it’s Drunk, Sick And Blue.
Finnegan’s Hell are a Celtic-punk band from Sweden who have no pretense of being anything but a Celtic-punk band, they specialize in fast and raw punk sing-a-longs with a great sense of Celtic melody. Reminiscent of fellow Scandinavian’s Greenland Whalefishers and Sir Reg and to my well trained ears, New Jersey legends, The Skels.
There are lots of highlights on Drunk, Sick and Blue – The Finnegan’s ode to good child raising, Jar of Porter; the covers of Galway Races and The Molly Maguires and not to forget their ditty to benefits of drinking hard, Reverse Evolution.
A very fine, first full length, check’em out, you won’t be disappointed.
January 21, 2015
The back and front cover of this six track mini-album probably gives a better impression of of what Shambolics sound like then any review I could write. The front cover is a cartoon pirate – kilted, ginger hair, teeth that would make MacGowan proud, accordion in one hand and banjo in the other. The back cover is the tattooed, mooning arse of said pirate – Pogue Mahone indeed!
Four track of fu#k you, Celtic punk’n’roll attitude (Pogue Mahone, Seven Seas, Halfway Inn and Filfee Feeving Bastards) with some familiar melodies (hey they guys are pirates so they probably looted the tunes). Why Try to Change Me is a more mushy ballad. Only You is the strange one, maybe the pirate was trying to woo a fair maiden from the islands with some reggae
January 1, 2015
The Pourmen as displayed on their debut full-length CD are best described as the musical equivalent of a bunch of hedonistic, lapsed-Catholic, Dorchester-Irish cowboys and whalefisher men, pissed on cheap whiskey and hired as the house band for the baddest dive bar in New Bedford. Punk, Irish, Sea-shanties, outlaw country and Americana – the sound track to that nights barroom brawl. Highlights include pretty much everything on the CD but especially Whaling City, What Did I Drink Last Night? and a really great cover Jackdaw’s Molly
December 22, 2014
Wanted to give a big shout to one of may favorite Irish-folk groups, the Boston area based Irish Whispa, who released their debut CD in 2014. Very much in the tradition of the Dubliners and especially Clancy Brothers with a couple or three Johnny Cash covers thrown in with their Irish ballad standards. You can play the Irish Whispa CD back to back with the best of The Clancy Brothers and honestly you won’t notice any difference in the quality…..high praise.
Shite'n'Onions 