February 1, 2012
Got this way back before the summer last year so I’m way late in reviewing so sorry guys! Lexington Road are from San Diego strangle enough – I would have guesses either Kentucky or Mass given the name. A very strong debut and very well produced – big rock with a punk energy and loads of fiddles that merge the rock with Celtic, Americana and country. You’ll be hearing a lot more from these guys soon….very soon as an EP is on the way and I’ll review it in haste this time.
January 25, 2012
Looks can be deceptive. Looking at the band picture on the back side of the Second Wind sleeve (the 2nd album no less), Bill Grogan’s Goat (apologies to the band) look like a middle-aged folk rock band permanently stuck playing the Sunday opening spot of some poorly attended, Irish festive in some middle of nowhere, mid-Western state – the track list (all standards) doesn’t take away from the assumption. The music? We’ll its all that but just louder, faster and dirtier and more Motor City guitar riffs then you could ever imagine Irish folk to be. Iggy and The Stooges meets The Clancy’s Brothers and its good and at times skull crushing amazing – the version of Danny Boy is my song of the year so far – post grunge, industrial with a riff and tone that would make Tony Iommi proud. Kick out the jams Paddy Rockers.
January 17, 2012
I remember reviewing a Murder The Stout album a few years back – rock solid Scottish and Irish ballad standards. In subsequent years, Hugh Morrison the Scottish born, Texas based vocalist and accordion player has cropped up on various Street Dogs tracks adding a Celtic touch to their street punk as will as becoming a touring member of the group. Well here the Street Dogs return the favor with Street Dog Johnny Rioux listed as a full band member and Street Dog Mike McColgan’s Boston accent going toe to toe with Morrison’s Scottish. The music still remains rooted in the Scottish/Irish ballad tradition but now with just a touch more punk’n’roll. Murder The Street Dog’s anyone?
October 25, 2011
I’m not sure if the FLOGGING MOLLY comparison are starting to bug the folks at SIR REG, but truth be said, A SIGN OF THE TIMES, sounds more like FLOGGING MOLLY then FLOGGING MOLLY does these days. Dubliner, Brendan Sheehy’s accent, vocals and pitch sound so like fellow Dubliner, Dave King, that it’s scary and the rest of SIR REG can knock out a racked as good as anything Flogging Molly has done – fast, trashy, jig punk and all done with a drunken smile on their collective faces. Compared to the very fine, FECK THE CELIC TIGER, Sir Reg’s last album that we just reviewed here on the hollowed html of Shite’n’Onions, it’s a even a step up on that, the band are tighter and the songs more finely crafted. Highly recommended.
October 18, 2011
Sir Reg is a new one to me. Heard the name float about a bit, John Bowles @ Paddyrock gave them a best of 2010 for their debut Sir Reg . I know they are Swedish. The band sent me on a copy of Feck a little while back. The title was the first thing that impressed me – it pretty much sums up the Irish attitude to life these days – pretty good observation from Swede’s.
I give the album a 1st listen to on the train home from work – as expect on an initial listen good Euro-Celtic punk, I get distracted and fade out of the music, the music wasn’t having any of my distraction and soon I thinking WOW the new Flogging Molly sounds really good, a real return to form – then reality hits me like a can of Red Bull bouncing off my head – I’m not listening to Flogging Molly but some Swedish crowd and bhoy can the singer ape Dave Kings vocals and accent – crap he sounds like he came kicking and screaming into life at the Rotunda Hospital at the top of Dublin’s O’Connell street. A little research later and I discover the singer has a good Irish name – Brendan Sheey – and did come kicking and screaming into the world in either the Rotunda or The Coombe or one of the other maternity hospitals in Dublin. Easily the find of the year, even if we are a year late. Good news is that a new album is out soon – A Sign Of The Times – and I already have an advance copy!!!!
October 10, 2011
Germany’s THE POKES (just to keep the recent German theme going) are one of those bands that year-over-year, release-over-release are consistently good, and High Hopes their 3rd release doesn’t disappoint. The Pokes name and main folk influence come from Polka and The Polks proudly play Punk’n’Polka – think of THE CLASH at Octoberfest with the The Pogues serving up good German beers (though The Pokes are NOT trying to be Irish just Polka with the attitude). Lots of good sing/shout along stuff, gruff vocals (mostly in English) and a tight, tight band.
September 12, 2011
I’m confused. Wasn’t/isn’t there a German folk-punk band of the Pogues school of song writing also called The Bleeding Hearts. These Folk’n’Glory guys are quite clearly English and from reading their promo material, our new friends from the West Midlands have been around since ’95 or so. Maybe the same band? Maybe I just imagined the Germans?
Anyway Germans or no Germans, this bunch of Bleeding Hearts take a distinctly English approach to folk-punk and so like a lot of English bands in this genre they bow down at the alter of THE LEVELLERS. The Bleeding Hearts have roots in the whole anarcho punk thing – both in style and substance though with sometimes a slight metallic undercurrent along with highly caffeinated fiddles that bring to mind Cornwall’s BATES MOTEL. The only thing that doesn’t gell well with me is the vocals often hit the heavy metal register – but nothing that a daily habit of a few packs of cigarettes and a bottle of whiskey can’t cure. Bleeding Hearts are the type of band to best enjoyed on the festival circuit surrounded by white people with dreadlocks, painful looking piercing’s and BO problems, though if those logistics don’t work for you then Folk’n’Glory is a good substitute.
September 8, 2011
“Give us pints of Whiskey, you hear the bastards shout”
In one lyric, The Skels sum up their entire musical career and philosophy of life. In case you aren’t familiar with The Skels, they are a bunch of Irish whiskey swigging, banjo swinging, football hooligans from North Jersey, let loose in the recording studio (though I’d love to see them let loose on the Jersey Shore house….that would be great TV.)
The delightfully titled, “Heading For The Knackers Yard”, is the bands 4th full-length and first in 4 or 5 years. And I can proudly say that “Heading For The Knackers Yard” is exactly as I expected it to sounds – no chance of The Skels ever pulling a Flogging Molly – we have whisked soaked, rough and tumble, white trash, meth smoking, redneck, sing-a-long New jersey Celtic punk’n’ roll (and I mean that in the most loving and respectful way of course).
Beyond the bucket of blood bars of NJ, NYC and Brighton, MA, The Skels are an somewhat of an unknown quantity despite being the longest running Celtic punk band in the US – 15 plus years and counting – check ’em out before they end up in the knackers themselves.
July 24, 2011
Though we ran extensive (and very positive) review of Death Shore Pirates a little while back we had a request for an opinion from Mustard Finnegan himself – usually we don’t that but since the request was from our good friend Waldo @ Celtic-Folk-Punk we decided to oblige.
So from the pen of Mustard Finnegan:
Bastards on Parade are from Galicia (they say its part of Spain) and with a name like Bastards on Parade you know were the influence is coming from without even spinning the disk – Flogging Molly! Just pulling your plonker! When you do spin the disk the apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree – fast, loud punk with gritty vocals (and without the trace of an accent), Gangs All Here vocals and bagpipes of course – though I’m guessing the pipes are more regional to Galicia then the Highland pipes favored by the Murphys – giving the bands at least some individuality on a genre overflowing with similar and copy cat stuff (then again if originally was something your looking for your reading the wrong zine – we do traditional’n’TNT here) but if your looking for 1st class Celtic punk and from a proudly Celtic part of Spain then Death Shore Pirates will satisfy that need.
July 7, 2011
Tales From The Glen is the 2nd full length from Canada’s Bang On The Ear, following up on the excellent but somewhat overlooked Green Grass And Gravel Roads. Bang On The Ear are based in the hotbed of Celtic-rock that is the County Glengarry – home of people like The Peelers, The Glengarry Bhoys and Enter The Haggis – but their hearts lie across the broad Atlantic in the Celtic nations, with the Scottish tradition strongest.
So the album itself? Solid to very good, no frills, straight ahead Celtic-rock with no surprises (and none wanted). Similar to The Peelers and The Town Pants – good time, high energy, Celtic-rock that will keep Bang On The Ear busy on the bar and festival circuit of Canada and the US for the foreseeable future. Go seem play and go pick up this album – its money better spent then on overpriced burgers, soggy fries and undersized warm beer peddled at the festivals.
Shite'n'Onions 