The Ramshackle Army “Life Lessons and Drunken Sessions”
Release date: 1st May 2011
Running Time: 20:20, 7 tracks
When The Hornswagglers broke at the beginning of 2010 I must admit that I felt sad. I had enjoyed their songs and had the impression that they deserved to be heard by a bigger audience. Fortunately some ex-Hornswagglers were involved in a new project and The Ramshackle Army was born mid-2010.
The Ramshackle Army released some demos in which it was obvious that, even if they shared some members with The Hornswagglers, they were a different band. Some of the songs were included in the Fire in the Pub sampler that was posted in June 2010, then you will agree with me that both The Ramshackle Army’s sound and songwriting were awesome.
Almost a year later, the band fronted by Gaz is releasing their debut EP “Life Lessons & Drunken Sessions”, a collection of 7 excellent songs. Neither pipes, nor accordion are featured on this EP. However the band has developed their own sound based on a dynamic singer (Gaz), a wonderful fiddler (Kat) and a great banjo/mandolin player (Loc) backed by very good musicians on guitar and rhythm section (Nath - guitar, Jig - bass and Adge - drums)
The band recently released a video of the opening track, “Uprising Young Citizen”, so I guess that most of the fans will be familiar with this song. Fiddle, banjo and great vocals and chorus. The kind of sing-along song that any band should have in their setlist to start a show.
The next song, "Rue the Day", goes in a different way and features mandolin instead of banjo, but is also as powerful as the previous one.
The third song, “No Rest for the Wicked”, is also well-known, since a previous version was included in the demos.
Track no. 4 and track no. 5 are stuck together. “Life Lessons & Drunken Sessions” is basically an arranged version of “The Cooley's Reel” played at a slower pace When the tune ends, there is a banjo led transition part. The song seems to be calm, but the chorus is really strong.
The last two songs are my faves, together with “Rue the Day”. “Fire is Burning” is amazing! Do you like “The Night Paddy Murphy Died”? “Fire is Burning” is that kind of song, the one you expect to hear at St.Patrick’s Day. I guess that the sound is influenced by the Australian bush music.
The final track is also grand. Imagine that Billy Bragg , Paul Simmonds and Swill (both from The Men They Couldn’t Hang) are drinking together at a pub while they are listening to DKM “Caught in a Jar”. If they decided to write a song together, it would be this.
Ah, and the package design is also excellent, including lyrics, liner notes and a picture of the band.
The Australian scene is full of interesting acts: The Go Set, Catgut Mary, The Currency, The Rumjacks … and now The Ramshackle Army.
I love bands like The Ramshackle Army, the bands that take risks. It would have been easier for them to use other instruments or to copy the style of one of the other well-known Australian bands. However, they have followed a different approach and I'm sure that this will pay.
Tracklist:
01 – Uprising Young Citizen 3:06
02 – Rue The Day 2:50
03 – No Rest for the Wicked 3:22
04 – Life Lessons & Drunken Sessions 0:57
05 – Bays End Guns 3:54
06 – Fire is Burning 2:42
07 – Time Immemorial 3:19
www.theramshacklearmy.com
www.facebook.com/theramshacklearmy
www.myspace.com/theramshacklearmy
www.reverbnation.com/theramshacklearmy
www.triplejunearthed.com/theramshacklearmy
http://twitter.com/#!/ramshacklearmy
Click to buy the band’s merchandise
http://theramshacklearmy.bigcartel.com/
Review by Kinksmarkham
Release date: 1st May 2011
Running Time: 20:20, 7 tracks
When The Hornswagglers broke at the beginning of 2010 I must admit that I felt sad. I had enjoyed their songs and had the impression that they deserved to be heard by a bigger audience. Fortunately some ex-Hornswagglers were involved in a new project and The Ramshackle Army was born mid-2010.
The Ramshackle Army released some demos in which it was obvious that, even if they shared some members with The Hornswagglers, they were a different band. Some of the songs were included in the Fire in the Pub sampler that was posted in June 2010, then you will agree with me that both The Ramshackle Army’s sound and songwriting were awesome.
Almost a year later, the band fronted by Gaz is releasing their debut EP “Life Lessons & Drunken Sessions”, a collection of 7 excellent songs. Neither pipes, nor accordion are featured on this EP. However the band has developed their own sound based on a dynamic singer (Gaz), a wonderful fiddler (Kat) and a great banjo/mandolin player (Loc) backed by very good musicians on guitar and rhythm section (Nath - guitar, Jig - bass and Adge - drums)
The band recently released a video of the opening track, “Uprising Young Citizen”, so I guess that most of the fans will be familiar with this song. Fiddle, banjo and great vocals and chorus. The kind of sing-along song that any band should have in their setlist to start a show.
The next song, "Rue the Day", goes in a different way and features mandolin instead of banjo, but is also as powerful as the previous one.
The third song, “No Rest for the Wicked”, is also well-known, since a previous version was included in the demos.
Track no. 4 and track no. 5 are stuck together. “Life Lessons & Drunken Sessions” is basically an arranged version of “The Cooley's Reel” played at a slower pace When the tune ends, there is a banjo led transition part. The song seems to be calm, but the chorus is really strong.
The last two songs are my faves, together with “Rue the Day”. “Fire is Burning” is amazing! Do you like “The Night Paddy Murphy Died”? “Fire is Burning” is that kind of song, the one you expect to hear at St.Patrick’s Day. I guess that the sound is influenced by the Australian bush music.
The final track is also grand. Imagine that Billy Bragg , Paul Simmonds and Swill (both from The Men They Couldn’t Hang) are drinking together at a pub while they are listening to DKM “Caught in a Jar”. If they decided to write a song together, it would be this.
Ah, and the package design is also excellent, including lyrics, liner notes and a picture of the band.
The Australian scene is full of interesting acts: The Go Set, Catgut Mary, The Currency, The Rumjacks … and now The Ramshackle Army.
I love bands like The Ramshackle Army, the bands that take risks. It would have been easier for them to use other instruments or to copy the style of one of the other well-known Australian bands. However, they have followed a different approach and I'm sure that this will pay.
Tracklist:
01 – Uprising Young Citizen 3:06
02 – Rue The Day 2:50
03 – No Rest for the Wicked 3:22
04 – Life Lessons & Drunken Sessions 0:57
05 – Bays End Guns 3:54
06 – Fire is Burning 2:42
07 – Time Immemorial 3:19
www.theramshacklearmy.com
www.facebook.com/theramshacklearmy
www.myspace.com/theramshacklearmy
www.reverbnation.com/theramshacklearmy
www.triplejunearthed.com/theramshacklearmy
http://twitter.com/#!/ramshacklearmy
Click to buy the band’s merchandise
http://theramshacklearmy.bigcartel.com/
Review by Kinksmarkham
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