The Ramshackle Army "Letters from the Road Less Travelled" East Grand Records EGRC017
Release date: 18 February 2014
Running time: 41:13, 12 tracks
Aussie band The Ramshackle Army skyrocketing career was stopped somewhere between 2012 and 2013. After having delivered a kickass EP in 2011, they were invited to play some gigs with Dropkick Murphys in the USA , where they met the SoCal and East Coast Celtic punk intelligentsia. The next step should have been the debut album, but a couple of years went by and the CD was postponed.
I must admit that I was a little bit concerned. Between 2011 and the end of 2013 the band could have written and played a lot of new material. Therefore, they could have plenty of songs to choose. But, in the meanwhile, the band’s sound could have evolved in such a way that the gap between the EP and the album could be huge.
When the title of the album was revealed, I thought that the new album would be a mix of British fiddle folk punk and Irish traditional music. “Letters from the Road Less Travelled” seemed to be the addition of “Letters from the Underground” (a Levellers album) and “The Road Less Traveled” (a Danú album). Obviously, this was not the case. The Ramshackle Army’s debut album owes a lot to their North American buddies, particularly to the So-Cal bands.
The album starts with an accordion intro, whose theme is that of the second track, “Anchors Aweigh”. It's a fantastic shanty that is followed by “Coffin & Copper”, one of the standouts of the disc. Lexington Field influences are disguised with Aussie roots on this number featuring fiddle and banjo.
My fave song on the album is “Boilermakers Hands”. It’s a catchy song that will make you think that you’re listening to Radio Birdman covering The Men They Couldn’t Hang “The Bells”. Excellent guitar work.
The CD is plenty of great songs and “The Road Less Travelled” is not the exception that proves the rule. Great banjo picking on this Hoist the Colors sounding number. RSA know how to use the background vocals.
The next two tracks have also a So-Cal twist filtered by Australian music. I prefer the mandolin driven “Broken Towns” to “Lockdown”.
“Broken White Lines” is the most stunning number on the album. Fiddle, tin whistle and a festive bass are played at the beginning of this song. When one thinks that it’s an instrumental number, Gaz and Nath begin to sing. An amazing song directly linked to the “Life Lessons and Drunken Sessions” era.
Another song that I sing regularly is “Drink it Dry”. Drums, “One-Two, One-Two-Three-Four” and here we go! Banjo and fiddle haunt you and echoes from Billy Bragg and The Pogues surround you. My second-best song.
“Skin Will Burn” has an Aussie pedigree and a slight Hoist the Color flavour too. Great stuff.
The CD ends with “One Tree Hill”. It’s a brilliant faced-paced anthem with an awesome banjo and fiddle theme reminiscent of Flogging Molly “Tobacco Island”.
“Letters from the Road Less Travelled” is a tight album, but some points could have been improved. I feel that the fiddle should be more prominent on some parts. Apart from that, I have a doubt. “One Tree Hill” is a very good closing number, but I keep on wondering if “Drink it Dry” would have been a better choice.
The canvas looking artwork is a labour of love. However, the guests are not mentioned on the credits (Wez from pirate punk band Sforzando on accordian and Dave from Catgut Mary on tin whistle) and no lyrics to the songs have beeb included. Maybe it’s not the band’s fault (The Tosspints CD from the same label had no lyrics too), but it’s really a shame.
The Ramshackle Army have probably released the most interesting album from the first quarter of 2014. The wait was worth it!
Tracklist:
01. Intro 00:42
02. Anchors Aweigh 3:41
03. Coffin & Copper 2:44
04. Boilermaker's Hands 03:42
05. Road Less Travelled 3:34
06. Broken Town 2:39
07. Lockdown 4:06
08. Broken White Lines 4:01
09. Drink it Dry 4:15
10. Skin Will Burn 3:55
11. Signs of Rain 3:37
12. One Tree Hill 3:50
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Triple J Unearthed
Click to buy:
Bandcamp
Review by Kinksmarkham
Release date: 18 February 2014
Running time: 41:13, 12 tracks
Aussie band The Ramshackle Army skyrocketing career was stopped somewhere between 2012 and 2013. After having delivered a kickass EP in 2011, they were invited to play some gigs with Dropkick Murphys in the USA , where they met the SoCal and East Coast Celtic punk intelligentsia. The next step should have been the debut album, but a couple of years went by and the CD was postponed.
I must admit that I was a little bit concerned. Between 2011 and the end of 2013 the band could have written and played a lot of new material. Therefore, they could have plenty of songs to choose. But, in the meanwhile, the band’s sound could have evolved in such a way that the gap between the EP and the album could be huge.
When the title of the album was revealed, I thought that the new album would be a mix of British fiddle folk punk and Irish traditional music. “Letters from the Road Less Travelled” seemed to be the addition of “Letters from the Underground” (a Levellers album) and “The Road Less Traveled” (a Danú album). Obviously, this was not the case. The Ramshackle Army’s debut album owes a lot to their North American buddies, particularly to the So-Cal bands.
The album starts with an accordion intro, whose theme is that of the second track, “Anchors Aweigh”. It's a fantastic shanty that is followed by “Coffin & Copper”, one of the standouts of the disc. Lexington Field influences are disguised with Aussie roots on this number featuring fiddle and banjo.
My fave song on the album is “Boilermakers Hands”. It’s a catchy song that will make you think that you’re listening to Radio Birdman covering The Men They Couldn’t Hang “The Bells”. Excellent guitar work.
The CD is plenty of great songs and “The Road Less Travelled” is not the exception that proves the rule. Great banjo picking on this Hoist the Colors sounding number. RSA know how to use the background vocals.
The next two tracks have also a So-Cal twist filtered by Australian music. I prefer the mandolin driven “Broken Towns” to “Lockdown”.
“Broken White Lines” is the most stunning number on the album. Fiddle, tin whistle and a festive bass are played at the beginning of this song. When one thinks that it’s an instrumental number, Gaz and Nath begin to sing. An amazing song directly linked to the “Life Lessons and Drunken Sessions” era.
Another song that I sing regularly is “Drink it Dry”. Drums, “One-Two, One-Two-Three-Four” and here we go! Banjo and fiddle haunt you and echoes from Billy Bragg and The Pogues surround you. My second-best song.
“Skin Will Burn” has an Aussie pedigree and a slight Hoist the Color flavour too. Great stuff.
The CD ends with “One Tree Hill”. It’s a brilliant faced-paced anthem with an awesome banjo and fiddle theme reminiscent of Flogging Molly “Tobacco Island”.
“Letters from the Road Less Travelled” is a tight album, but some points could have been improved. I feel that the fiddle should be more prominent on some parts. Apart from that, I have a doubt. “One Tree Hill” is a very good closing number, but I keep on wondering if “Drink it Dry” would have been a better choice.
The canvas looking artwork is a labour of love. However, the guests are not mentioned on the credits (Wez from pirate punk band Sforzando on accordian and Dave from Catgut Mary on tin whistle) and no lyrics to the songs have beeb included. Maybe it’s not the band’s fault (The Tosspints CD from the same label had no lyrics too), but it’s really a shame.
The Ramshackle Army have probably released the most interesting album from the first quarter of 2014. The wait was worth it!
Tracklist:
01. Intro 00:42
02. Anchors Aweigh 3:41
03. Coffin & Copper 2:44
04. Boilermaker's Hands 03:42
05. Road Less Travelled 3:34
06. Broken Town 2:39
07. Lockdown 4:06
08. Broken White Lines 4:01
09. Drink it Dry 4:15
10. Skin Will Burn 3:55
11. Signs of Rain 3:37
12. One Tree Hill 3:50
Website
Triple J Unearthed
Click to buy:
Bandcamp
Review by Kinksmarkham
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