REVIEW - THE SUNDAY PUNCHERS Self-titled debut (2014)

The Sunday Punchers "Self-titled", self-released (2014)
Release date: 9 August 2014
Running time: 45:14, 13 tracks

Which are South African main icons apart from Nelson Mandela? Maybe the Big Five at Kruger National Park (the buffalo, the elephant, the leopard, the lion and the rhino) and the Springboks (South African national rugby team). And what do The Sunday Punchers have in common with them (apart from being South African, of course)? Perhaps the wild attitude on their sound and the fact that they can compete with their Aussie, English, French, Irish, Scottish and Welsh counterparts.

After having released in 2013 a two track single with new material and a compilation putting together their previous material, the band from Gauteng has finally released their proper debut album. The CD includes 6 classic songs from their repertoire, 6 new self-penned songs and a cover of Dropkick Murphys “I’m Shipping Up to Boston”. The classics are new recordings of “Whalefishers” (Salt Lake Whalefishers cover), “Guinness”, “Whiskey” and “Exile of a Broken Man” and the single “Golden Sun”/”Sea Monsters”. The new songs are titled “Graveyard Swagger”, “March of the Drunkards”, “Ol’ Dear Laddy”, “Away from Myself”, “Hoist Thy Colours” and “Dragon’s Lair”.

The album has all the elements that define the band’s sound: sea songs and booze numbers,  lion roaring vocals by Mostert, addictive banjo picking by Shaun and kick-ass accordion by Hewie. But the main difference with old recordings is the guitar work by Mike on the production and final mix. The song where this is clearer is “Hoist thy Colours”.

From the very beginning The Sunday Punchers get the listener’s attention with the catchy “Graveyard Swagger”. “Guinness” keeps on being a highlight on the band’s catalogue. “Whiskey” will make you sing-along together with the drunken gang. “Dear Ol’ Laddy” is a dancing pisstake with more drunken vocals. And “Shipping Up to Boston” is faithful to the original.

However,  the new numbers showcase a different end of the band that was already present on “Sea Monsters” and “Golden Sun”  (love this song and the female vocals by Bianca Henning ). For instance, the aforementioned “Hoist thy Colours”, but also the mid-tempo “Away from Myself”, and the bagpipes punk tune “Dragon’s Lair”

Unexpectedly, The Sunday Punchers have recently decided to call it a day due to musical differences. Anyway, I’m borrowing  Mensi’s words from 1983 when Angelic Upstarts broke-up:  don’t think that you’ve seen the last of The Sunday Punchers, they shall return. In what shape or form they haven’t decided yet. In the meanwhile, grab a copy of the band’s testament before it becomes a sought-after item at e-bay, since it’s an essential album to understand the globalization of the Celtic punk scene.

Tracklist:

01 - Graveyard Swagger 3:01
02 - Whale Fishers 3:27
03 - Guinness 3:36
04 - March of the Drunkards 2:54
05 - Whiskey 2:52
06 - Ol' Dear Laddy 3:41
07 - Away From Myself 3:39
08 - Golden Sun (feat Bianca Henning, vocals) 4:11
09 - Shipping Up to Boston 2:42
10 - Exile of a Broken Man 3:21
11 - Hoist Thy Colors 4:47
12 - Sea Monsters 3:21
13 - Dargon's Lair (feat. Bruce Missing, pipes) 3:41

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Interview on Celtic Life International


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Or e-mail the band to get a hard copy:

shaun@simbiot.co.za

Review by Kinksmarkham