REVIEW - THE VANDON ARMS "No Loyalty Among Thieves" (2013)

The Vandon Arms "No Loyalty Among Thieves"
Release date: May 28, 2013
Running time: 39:23, 13 tracks

Some bands are formed, they release some demos or an EP straight away and after two years their debut album is out. As far as The Vandon Arms are concerned, things went in a different way. The guys from Des Moines released two kick-ass EPs in 2006, “Loosers and Boozers”, and 2008 “Health to Your Company”. Their mandolin driven Celtic punk got rave reviews (just have a look to this write-up on Shite’n’Onions) and everybody was looking forward to hearing their studio debut album. Nevertheless, they release a 10 track live album in 2009 and another EP in 2010. I guess that some fans were wondering if The Vandon Arms would  ever issue a studio album.

Fortunately they did it: their debut  album “No Loyalty Among Thieves” was out at the end of May 2013. The band has grown from a 4 piece based on mandolin to a  6 piece featuring mandolin, banjo, accordion and tin whistle. Not only have they improved as musicians, but their new sound is an interesting evolution.

There are 13 songs on “No Loyalty Among Thieves”, ten original, two traditional numbers (“Waxie’s Dargle” and “The Moonshiner”) and the cover they recorded for The Mahones tribute album (“Down the Boozer”). The band members say that they are influenced by the Dropkick Murphys early years, Rancid or The Killigans. Those inspirations can be easily found on some tracks for instance, Rancid and DKM on “Bodywrecker” and The Killigans on “Solid Ground” or “Young & Bored”. They are awesome songs but, IMHO, there are other tracks that should be highlighted:  those that show a similar attitude to that of Hoist The Colors, “Tie One On” an “Grab a Sovel”, together with The Mahones style anthem with a Tossers twist titled “Hell of a Night” and the last number ”Dance With the Devil”,  one of the best compositions from a musical point of view.
 
“No Loyalty Among Thieves” is a must have for any Celtic punk fan.  Due to a missprint (Loyaly instead of Loyalty), the band has been selling the CDs at a reduced price. Hurry up! Maybe you can grab one of them yet.


Tracklist:

01. One Hell of a Night 4:00
02. Streets of Gold 1:54
03. Is This Your Life? 2:56
04. Waxies Dargle 1:32
05. Solid Ground 4:58
06. Bodywrecker 2:32
07. The Moonshiner 2:14
08. Rats in the Belly 3:16
09. Tie One On 3:10
10. Young and Bored 3:03
11. Grab a Shovel 2:20
12. Down the Boozer 3:29
13. Dance with the Devil 3:30

http://www.thevandonarms.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Vandon-Arms/10920399522
http://www.reverbnation.com/thevandonarms
https://myspace.com/thevandonarms
http://www.purevolume.com/thevandonarms
https://soundcloud.com/thevandonarms
http://www.sonicbids.com/2/EPK/?epk_id=152624
https://twitter.com/thevandonarms
http://ventsmagazine.com/the-vandon-arms/

Click to buy:

http://www.thevandonarms.bigcartel.com/product/pre-order-no-loyalty-among-thieves
https://itunes.apple.com/es/album/no-loyalty-among-thieves/id647880761
http://www.amazon.com/No-Loyalty-Among-Thieves/dp/B00CVNZX38/ref=sr_shvl_album_1/188-0680143-6004563?ie=UTF8&qid=1372613177&sr=301-1

Review by kinksmarkham