I reviewed, Finnegan’s Hell’s last album, Work Is The Curse Of The Drinking Class, a few weeks back and it was outstanding. I now have a copy of their new one, One Finger Salute, and can happily report it’s another cracker. The band is tight, and aggressive with a great sense of melody. The songs are very strong, as good as anything the big boys are doing, while the lyrics betray a sense of humor and a touch of a drinking problem.  The album kicks off on side one with, What Have You Got in the End, which blends tin whistle and aggressive guitars with a bleak outlook on life.  One Finger Salute, is an F-U to an ex and their extended family –   I love the growling vocals here. Mickey Finn is about a bad trip and it’s a wild ride of a song -the double lead vocals are reminiscent of the Dropkick Murphys. Read My Lips, has a bad attitude and strangely reminds me of Motorhead (well if Lemmy played the banjo). Godforsaken Town, closes out side one as a hard luck barroom singalong. Side two opens with, Run Boy Run, a strong accordion-driven Celtic rocker. Comin After You, is growling Celtic-Cow-punk. I’ll make it up to you, is a frantic jig of promises that may not be true – very reminiscent of fellow Scandinavians Greenland Whalefishers. Nothing Left to Lose, is maybe my favorite track here and musically is as nihilistic as its lyrics. The album closes with the doom and gloom of Oh Death.  Overall a great album.

https://finneganshell.com/

I know Finnegan’s Hell have just released a new album (it’s winding its way to me) but I wanted to give, Work Is The Curse Of The Drinking Class, a quick review first. Released at the tail end of 2020, Work……,, is Finnegan’s Hell third full-length album and while the previous two albums were solid Celtic-punk with a drinking problem, there was not much that made those releases stand out of the crowd. Well that has changed with, Work….., which after a few spins is a real standout album. The Finnegan’s Hell on, Work……,, is tight as hell, and the songs are first-class, no frills Celtic-punk with strong melodies and a drinking problem. Check out the title track below, there is a lot more of this quality through the album.

https://finneganshell.com/

July 14, 2018

Poor Tim Finnegan, after a life of drinking the sup, brawling and chasing the shady lady he fell from that bloody ladder, struck his head and died. After the infamous wake when he was finally bloody well dead his mortal remains were tossed into Shane MacGowan’s grave and his spirit went straight to hell. But for Tim like Bon Scott hell ain’t such a bad place to be and isn’t that grand lads.

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.