REVIEW - THE LOGUES "Tough at the Bottom" LGS001 (2011)

The Logues "Tough at the Bottom" LGS001 (2011)
Release date: July 15th, 2011
Running time: 42:13, 11 tracks

The Logues is a five piece band from Co. Tyrone. The band is fronted by Justin Logue (Vocals, tin whistle) hence the name. His band mates are Kiel Cathers (vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica), Christophe Speer (tenor banjo, mandolin, guitars, accordion), Christopher Darragh (bass) and Darrell Belson (drums).

“Tough at the Bottom”, their debut album, is a nice bunch of songs about booze. Then , it’s obvious that The Logues have their roots on the Irish balladeers (The Dubliners among others) and the great Christy Moore. However, influences from artist like the Waterboys or Bob Geldof can be heard on tracks such as “Jimmy Lassie” or “Broomstock Boogie”.

The banjo and the mandolin from Christophe Speer  play the main role on the band’s sound and sometimes they are backed by the tin whistle (“Price of a Pint”, “Misty Morning Night”).

The catchiest songs on the album would be the opening track “Price of a Pint” (the most Celtic punk track on “Tough at the Bottom”) and “Poitin Valley” (great banjo and mandolin). Other interesting numbers are “Ballad of John Barleycorn” (if you love Shane MacGowan’s “More Pricks than Kicks”, this song has the same music), “Music of the Night” (a sort of a stop-and-go song; it goes calm and then the banjo and the bass speed up the beat), “Tales of the Road” (the song is sung a capella and then the banjo joins; this track features “Maidrin Rua”), “Misty Morning Night” (a Goats Don’t Shave sounding song) and “Broomstick Boogie”  (a song that could be filed together with “The Great Song of Indifference")

For Celtic punk fans, let’s say that in a scale from 1 point (Saw Doctors) to 10 points (Blood or Whiskey), The Logues would get 6,5 points. They are neither raucous, nor polished.  Music from the heart or from the liver? I guess that the best description of The Logues music would be the lyrics of the song "Irish Ways" from the LILT album. Grab a pint and dance to their songs.


Tracklist:

1. Price of a Pint 2:35
2. Jimmy Lassie 3:16
3. No Place Like Home 3:52
4. Broomstick Boogie 4:17
5. Ballad of John Barleycorn 3:29
6. Drinkin' with God 3:47
7. Music of the Night 3:53
8. Misty Morning Night 4:16
9. Tales of the Road 3:45
10. Poitin Valley 3:53
11. Last Orders 5:09

http://www.thelogues.com
http://www.reverbnation.com/thelogues
http://www.facebook.com/theloguesband
http://soundcloud.com/the-logues
http://www.myspace.com/logues
https://twitter.com/#!/thelogues

Click to buy a digital copy:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/logues3

Review by Kinksmarkham