Pages

Sunday, December 9, 2012

REVIEW - THE KILLIGANS "Another Round for the Strong of Heart" (2012)


The Killigans "Another Round for the Strong of Heart" Speed A-6000
Release date: October 26, 2012
Running time: 34:48, 10 tracks


“Do I belong to some ancient race/I like to walk on ancient places/These are things that I can understand/I don’t belong in your mother ways/Don’t care about the things you say/Your policies have failed the test of time/’cause you sold them down the river-o” (LevellersSell Out”)

Why have I chosen those lyrics by the Levellers if I’m writing about The Killigans? First of all, I have always found some similarity between Mark Chadwick’s vocals and Brad Hoffman’s vocals. Secondly, I feel that the best songs on “Another Round for the Strong of Heart” have this sort of a melancholy. Then, are The Killigans mellowing? Yes (lyrically) and no (sound).

The sound of my fave songs has the usual Killigans stamp: great vocals backed by superb mandolin and accordion. IMHO the best track on the album is clearly “Empty Streets”, both musically and lyrically. The second best would be the track that closes the album, “Take Me Back”. I love particularly those keyboards and that “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg” inspired passage. “Hey Sergio!” is another catchy number and “From the Underground” is a perfect So Cal punk song.

A quieter mood can be found on “Salt of the Earth” (The most Levelleresque song on the album) and the short instrumental “Ghosts of our Fathers”.

A new album by The Killigans is always excellent news. When one listens carefully to the album, the influence of The Killigans on new bands like Hoist the Colors becomes obvious. However, “Another Round for the Strong of Heart” is not their best album to date. A good album,  but not an essential one. Anyway, an album that is worth buying.

Tracklist:

01. Hit the Deck 3:53
02. Empty Streets 4:15
03. Devil and the Deep Blue Sea 3:46
04. Salt of the Earth 3:51
05. Hey Sergio 3:41
06. Ghosts of Our Fathers 1:13
07. The Throes of Misery 3:06
08. The Bottoms 3:16
09. From the Underground 3:41
10. Take Me Back 4:03

http://thekilligans.com
http://www.facebook.com/thekilligans
https://twitter.com/thekilligans

Click to buy:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/thekilligans
http://www.interpunk.com/item.cfm?Item=207443&

Review by Kinksmarkham


2 comments: