2017-06-30 EP REVIEW - THE DEAD MAGGIES "Wild Dogs and Flannies" (2017)

The Dead Maggies Wild Dogs and Flannies"
Release date: April 14, 2017
Running time:17:24, 5 tracks

The Dead Maggies have released two EPs in 2017, “the black one” and “the white one”. The black one is titled “Wild Dogs and Flannies” and lyrically differs from previous albums. The Tasman folk punk kings have delivered 5 tracks about “heavy issues such as domestic violence, assisted suicide and depletion of wilderness”.

“When I die” features both male and female vocals and it’s a country number with a rockabilly twist.

“She” was previously released as a single and I enjoy the vocals treatment. the next cut is called “Goodbye Gondwanaland”, an amazing number with a folkie flavour.

The last two tracks on the EP, “Wild Dogs & Foxes” and “All of my Flannies Are Broken”, are musically closer to the band’s previous offerings. That is, foot-stomping folk-punk at its best.

If you’re missing the lyrics about convicts and bushrangers, don’t worry. The songs on the “white EP” aka “The Wild Folk” tell those Tasmanian tales again (release date: June 2nd, 2017)

Track listing:

1 - When I die 03:20   
2 - She    03:24   
3 - Goodbye Gondwanaland 04:43   
4 - Wild Dogs & Foxes 03:23   
5 - All Of My Flannies Are Broken 02:26


Website
Facebook
Twitter

Click to buy:

Folk til ya Punk Store
Bandcamp


Review by Kinksmarkham

 

2017-06-29 NAME YOUR PRICE DOWNLOAD - THE LUCKY PISTOLS "Where the Orioles Fly"

The Lucky Pistols is an Irish folk punk band based out of Baltimore, Maryland. Formed in November 2016, The Lucky Pistols play pubs all Maryland including Baltimore and Washington DC. They play traditional Irish songs and original high energy music.

"Where the Orioles Fly" is their debut album and was recorded by Kenny Nicholson at Barstow Sound Studios. The album is available on Bandcamp (Name Your Price) . Some of the songs are already on rotation at Celtic-Folk-Punk Radio.

Links:

Facebook
Reverbnation

Line-up:

Sean Suttell - Multi-instrumentalist
Matthew Neil - Drums, percussion
Tony Graham - Bass

Discography:

3 track EP (2016)

"Where the Orioles Fly" (10 tracks, 2017)

DOWNLOAD:

Where the Orioles Fly - Bandcamp

Whiskey in the Jar - Single - Bandcamp

Three track EP - Reverbnation

2017-06-27 ALBUM REVIEW - CHEERS! "Daily Bread" (2017)

Cheers! "Daily Bread"
Release date: May 18, 2017
Running time: 48:23, 13 tracks

After a couple of 2 track singles and an album, the band from Pilsen are back with their best work to date. “Daily Bread”, the second CD by Cheers! Is a fantastic album. The seven Czech musicians have been able to blend the classic sound of the likes of Flogging Molly with electric guitars and a lot of attitude. There’s hardly no slow moments on this album, but amazing aggro Celtic punk songs.

“Chances” is brilliant opening track in the Flatfoot 56 vein. “London Days” keeps the level up with its gang vocals. “Misery” is angry folk punk at its best. “Saint of the Scene” features gang vocals too. So Cal punk meets  Across The Border accordion/fiddle punk on “Here We Are”. “Pie of Shame” is an appealing number with fantastic accordion and electric guitar. ”Dagger”, “Standard” and “Land Where Nobody Lives” follow the path of bands such as Flogging Molly, The Tossers or Greenland Whalefishers, while “Hey Devil” moves to The Dreadnoughts polka territory. Finally, “Once We Reach the Ireland’s Bay” is a top-notch folk ballad where uileann pipes by guest  Zdeněk Bugoš can be heard.

“Daily Bread” comes in a four panel digipack with a 16 page booklet. All the lyrics to the songs are included, together with a drawing for every song.

Front man Pafka suggested that I should mention the weak points on “Daily Bread”. That’s a hard work, as the album is excellent. Maybe Káťa’s whistles are covered by the electric instruments on some tracks. And perhaps the closing track should have been “Once We Reach the Ireland’s Bay”, but the fast-paced “Only Thing” is also a good song to finish up the album.

IMHO, Cheers! have reached the summit with “Daily Bread” and probably it’s the right moment to start and European tour. If you are working for a big Celtic or punk festival and you’re looking for kick-ass band, contact Cheers! straightaway.
 

Track listing:

01 - Chances 3:20
02 - London Days 4:06
03 - Misery 3:55
04 - Dagger 3:43
05 - Here We Are 4:02
06 - Standard 3:58
07 - Pie Of Shame 4:56
08 - Saint Of The Scene 4:18
09 - Mr. Batter 3:43
10 - Hey Devil 3:21
11 - Land Where Nobody Lives 4:39
12 - Once We Reach The Ireland's Bay 3:06
13 - Only Thing 1:10

Facebook
Bandzone
Twitter
Soundcloud
Instagram

Click to buy:

From the band
Supraphonline


Review by Kinksmarkham

Cheers! - Chances



Cheers! - Misery

Cheers! - Dagger



Cheers! - Hey Devil

Cheers! - Land Where Nobody Lives




 

2017-06-26 VIDEOS - MURPHY & THE GIANT, HERE BE DRAGONS, THE LED FARMERS

Some videos that have been recently added to the Celtic Folk Punk YouTube channel. Don't miss any update, subscribe!

 

Murphy & The Giant - Mollys



Here Be Dragons - Estragon Song (Radio Edit)



The Led Farmers - Thomas Jefferson

2017-06-22 PADDY ROCK PODCAST - EPISODE #33 - THE SMOKING GUNN

(This podcast was originally posted at Paddy Rock last June 19. Enjoy!)

The annual pledge drive has come to a close again for another year. Huge thanks to everyone who contributed. I am working on getting the stuffed ordered up right now, so hopefully within 2 or 3 weeks it is in and ready to go out to you all! While I am offering thanks I want to give a thanks and shoutout to Marc Gunn and boss at the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. For the 2nd Year now he has come to me and asked that I record for him a Celtic Punk show to air on his site. Because Marc is a great guy and I think Celtic Punk is the way to go I am always more than happy to help out.  Trad, Punk or Rock we Celts are a pretty tight community so some of you may have already hard this show. Though if you have not heard of Marc Gunn (The Musician) or his Irish & Celtic Music Podcast I recommend you check them out. After your listen to Episode #33 – The Smoking Gunn, Marc’s Podcast can be found here: http://celticmusicpodcast.com Until next time everyone stay well and take care !

DOWNLOAD:

Website
iTunes


The Playlist:

The BibleCode Sundays - Count Your Blessings
The Pourmen - Day Drinking
California Celts - Ghost Ship
McScallywag - St. Paddy’s Anthem
Nevermind Nessie - Best of Foes
The O’Reillys and the Paddyhats - The Boxer
Firkin - Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye
SMZB - Ten Thousand Ways To Rebel
The Wakes - King’s Shilling
Handsome Young Strangers - Poor Ned
Black Water County - Under Skies of Black and Blue
Hoist The Colors - Little Rebel
The Peelers - I’m Off To Kill The Devil
In For A Penny - Stumblin’ Home
In For A Penny - Tattletale
In For A Penny - If I Get To Heaven

2017-06-21 NAME YOUR PRICE DOWNLOAD - EBRI KNIGHT "Cridarem Foc!" (2017)

"Cridarem foc!" is the brand new live album released by Ebri Knight. The album was recorded last December 23rd, 2016 at Sala Apolo in Barcelona.

DOWNLOAD:

Bandcamp

2017-06-20 NAME YOUR PRICE DOWNLOAD - THE GOBSHITES "Some of the Best" (2017)

The Gobshites are an American Celtic punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2002 by Peter Walsh, their music has been compared with The Pogues and Black 47, but with a twist: as well as taking Irish songs and punking them up, they take classic punk songs and 'Irish' them up; for example, in their hands the Ramones' "Long Way Back to Germany" becomes "Long Way Back to Ireland" with a fiddle jig incorporated.

Although the band has had several lineup changes through the years, the current core lineup has been solid since early 2009, and includes former members of Meat Depressed, Charm City Saints, Last Night's Whiskey, Suckerpunch, and Trash Boys.

In 2005 they released their first full-length CD When The Shite Hits the Fans, and also appear on What the Shite? - Shite 'n' Onions Vol. 2. In 2007, their second and third albums Another Round and Get Bombed were released. The band has performed all over the Northeast United States, appearing at Irish pubs and rock clubs, as well as Shamrockfest in Washington, DC, the South Boston St. Patrick's Day parade, and Irish2000 Festival in Upstate New York. They've appeared with Black 47, Flatfoot 56, The Tossers, Street Dogs, Young Dubliners, Gaelic Storm, Derek Warfield, Neck and Tommy Ramone, among many other acts. In early 2011, they released Songs Me Da' Got Pissed To, an album of traditional Irish songs and tunes, as well as Poitin, an "Official Bootleg" CD of rare tracks, demos, and remixes.

Last year they released a 14 track album, "The Whistle Before the Snap". My fave tracks on that album: "Good Morning Finnegan", "The Evil and the Drink", "Cheers" and "Shane's Dentist". Other interesting tracks on that album: "12 Steps", the Ramones  "Somebody Put Something on my Drink", "Happy Everything" and "Let's Talk about Me". Some of them are on rotation on Celtic-Folk-Punk radio.

Their brand new album is a best of The Gobshites titled "Some of the Best" featuring among other songs their kick-ass cover of The Queers "I Only Drink Bud" re-titled "I Only Drink Stout" and is available as a Name Your Price download from Bandcamp.

Discography:

"When the Shite Hits the Fans" (16 tracks, 2005)
"Get Bombed" (15 tracks, 2007)
"Another Round" (15 tracks, 2007)
"Songs Me Da' Got Pissed to" (24 tracks, 2011)
"Poitin" (23 tracks, 2011)
"The Whistle Before the Snap" (14 tracks, 2016)
"Some of the Best" (16 tracks, 2017)

The Gobshites links:

Facebook
Reverbnation
Sonicbids


Click to buy their albums:

Their discography on Bancamp
"The Whistle Before the Snap" on CDBaby
"The Whistle Before the Snap" on iTunes

Line-up

Pete Walsh - Guitar, Lead Vocals
Tom Hughes - Bass, Vocals
Padraic (Paddy) O'Hare - Drums, Vocals
Christine McGuire - Fiddle
Amanda McCue - Guitar

DOWNLOAD:

Bandcamp

2017-06-19 ALBUM REVIEW - THE ORTHODOX CELTS "Many Mouths Shut!" (2017)

Orthodox Celts "Many Mouths Shut" O'Celts Records OC01
Release date: January 13, 2017
Running time: 29:31, 13 tracks
 
Celtic rock in the former Yugoslavia has a long history. Orthodox Celts (Serbia) and Belfast Food (Croatia) became quite popular among diehard Celtic punk/rock fans at the beginning of the XXIst century. Before the MySpace heyday, the albums by these bands were available outside their area thanks to P2P software and torrent sites.
 

Orthodox Celts were formed in 1992 and their debut album was issued in 1994. The first CD that I heard from the band was their sophomore album “The Celts Strike Again”. That CD was released in 1997 and featured a couple of original numbers. More albums followed: “Green Roses” (1999) featured 8 original songs; “A Moment like the Longest Day” (2002) was based on their own stuff, as there was only 1 cover on the album that opened the path to a more rock oriented sound; and “One, Two .. Five!” (2007) was an excellent CD that included a “The Fields of Athenry” rendition and a Thin Lizzy’s cover, “Sarah”.

The band has been active for the last 10 years, but no new album was released during that period. In the meanwhile, fiddler Ana Dokic left the band in 2009 and Nikola Stenojavic joined in. Bojan Petrovic, member of Irish Stew of Sindidun, replaced Dejan Popin in 2010 and recorded the whistles on “Many Mouths Shout” before leaving Orthodox Celts in June 2016.

A couple of singles were advanced in March 2014, “Save Me”, and March 2015, “One / Milk Honey”. However, “Many Mouths Shut” was released in January 2017 on the band’s own label O’Celts Records. Taking into account the band’s evolution, the fans would expect an album full of originals. Nevertheless, Orthodox Celts have taken another direction and “Many Mouths Shut” consists of 7 self-penned songs and 6 covers. Curiously, they’ve taken an approach similar to that of traditional bands: song, tunes, song, tunes. Even if most of the tunes have a traditional sound more than a Celtic-rock sound, they are played alone. That is, there are not set of tunes, but only short tunes.

My fave original songs are “I Wish You the Very Worst” (a number with a strong bass and a traditional tune), “One/Milk Honey” (a lively song with an amazing tin whistle, fiddle and percussion end) and “King of the Hill” (an upbeat song showcasing fiddle).

The other self-penned tracks are also very good. “Double Cross” is an interesting Celtic pop-rock number featuring fiddle and tin whistle. “Lone Wolf” and “Save Me” blend Irish music with American sounds. And “Revolution” has a tight rhythm section and a nice fiddle backing.

“The Parting Glass” is the only cover that is not a tune. I prefer The Dubliners version to the Clancy Brothers rendition. Orthodox Celts have given a fast-paced Celtic rock treatment to the song that I have really enjoyed.

Regarding the tunes, “The Banshee” (aka “McMahon’s”) is the best tune on the CD. It opens with fiddle and tin whistle, but then the full band joins. “Flowers of Red Hill” gets a Lúnasa treatment where tin whistle and percussion shine. IMHO, the remaining tracks are not as interesting from a Celtic rock album point of view. “Banish Misfortune” is given a basic or stripped treatment and features only mandola and acoustic guitar. “Morrison’s Jig” is a fiddle led tune played a little bit slowly. Bodhrán, accordion and banjo can be heard on the “Kesh Jig”. The musicianship is good on both jigs, but they don’t add anything new to these over-exposed standards.

Orthodox Celts’ sixth album comes in a 4 panel digipack. The artwork has been made by Italian comic book artist Walter Venturi. Every member of the band has been depicted by Walter on the artwork. Although there is no lyric booklet, all of the lyrics to the songs are available at the band’s website. “Many Mouths Shut” has been produced, mixed and mastered by Dejan Lalic (mandolin, octave mandola, tenor banjo, electric guitar and bck. vocals). The self-production involves that the band’s songs sound exactly as they want them to sound. And the final result is spotless.

Serbia has a dynamic Celtic rock/punk scene. Irish Stew of Sindidun will release their fourth album soon and young bands Scordisci and Cassidy’s Brewery have released some singles. But, before them, Orthodox Celts opened the track to this genre on the Balkan countries. Six albums and still growing.

Track listing:

01 - One/Milk & Honey 3:03
02 - I Wish You the Very Worst 3:07
03 - Morrison's Jig 1:17
04 - Save Me 2:53
05 - The Banshee 1:17
06 - King of the Hill 2:38
07 - Flowers of the Red Hill 1:08
08 - Lone Wolf 3:15
09 - Revolution 2:53
10 - Banish Misfortune 1:23
11 - Double Cross 2:59
12 - Parting Glass 2:04
13 - Kesh Jig 1:04    

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Wikipedia

Click to buy:

Amazon com
Amazon Germany
iTunes


Review by Kinksmarkham

2017-06-18 VIDEOS AND FREE DOWNLOADS - THE GREEN DUCK

The Green Duck are

Grégoire Butaeye - Fiddle, vocals
Laurent Réval - Vocals, guitar, harmonica, drums
Lionel Fouchet - Guitar, mandolin, vocals
Manu Bertrand - Banjo, mandolin, dobro
Guillaume Marsault - Bass

The Green Duck hail from Montpellier and was formed in 2014. They released an 8 track mini-album in 2015 and have played more than 250 concerts, one of them at the Eiffel tower during the UEFA Euro 2016 in Paris

Website
Facebook

The Green Duck will be playing at the Celti Teuillac festival 2017 next Friday July 7th, 2017 and their second EP will be out on July 12th, 2017.

As usual, their singles have been played at Celtic Folk Punk radio for the last weeks.

DOWNLOAD:

Jamendo

The Green Duck - Blow it Away



The Green Duck - On the Rise

 

2017-06-17 VIDEOS - CLAN OF CELTS, BLACK RAWK DOG, McONAK

Some videos that have been recently added to the Celtic Folk Punk YouTube channel. Don't miss any update, subscribe! 

 Clan of Celts - Beggars Celts and Madmen



Black Rawk Dog - Mini Album Teaser



McOnak - Tabernako argiak

2107-06-11 VIDEOS AND FREE DOWNLOADS - LES HUMEURS CÉRÉBRALES

Les Humeurs Cérébrales are a French band from la Corrèze playing Trad'n'Roll. Their influences are the likes of Les vistanis, Les Ogres de Barback, Les Hurlements de Léo, Mes souliers sont rouges, Debout sur le zinc, Yogan ... Les humeurs cérébrales play a festive blend of French "chanson", correzien folk and Celtic music.

Their music can be listened to at our 24/7 streaming radio Celtic-Folk-Punk on Radionomy. Some songs were added to our rotation list several weeks ago.
 

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Soundcloud

Line-up:

Lara Pouget - fiddle, bckg. vocals
Geoffrey Bouyge - guitars, lead vocals
Williams Bouyge - drums bckg. vocals
Florian Grivot - melodeon, tin whistle, low whistle, bckg. vocals
Alexis Bouillaguet - bass, bckg. vocals

Discography:

"C'est pas vraiement du trad', en fait" (12 tracks, 2012)
"Y'en a un peu plus, j'vous l'mets?" (11 tracks, 2013)
"Terroir caisse" (12 tracks, 2014)
"Mer en vue" (12 tracks, 2015)

DOWNLOAD:

Jamendo - Terroir Caisse
Jamendo - Mer en vue

Click to buy:

Band's store
iTunes - C'est pas vraiement du trad', en fait
iTunes - Y'en a un peu plus, j'vous l'mets?
iTunes - Terroir caisse
iTunes - Mer en vue


Some videos:

Les humeurs cérébrales - Les oies dans le champ du voisin



Les humeurs cérébrales - Arthur's Reel



Les humeurs cérébrales - Encore un verre

2017-06-09 VIDEOS - KRAKIN' KELLYS, PADDY AND THE RATS, DROPKICK MURPHYS

Some videos that have recently been added to the Celtic Folk Punk YouTube channel. Don't miss any update, subscribe!

Krakin' Kellys - One Way



Paddy and The Rats - Aerolites



Dropkick Murphys - Until the Next Time

2017-06-08 ALBUM REVIEW - THE VAD VUC "Disco Orario" (2017)

The Vad Vuc "Disco Orario" TVV009
Release date: April 28, 2017
Running time: 41:28, 13 tracks

The Vad Vuc is an essential Celtic rock band hailing from Ticino, Switzerland. The band was established in 2000 probably following the Modena City Ramblers footsteps. Apart from MCR, influences or similarities with The Pogues, Celtas Cortos, Ska-P or Talco can be found on their music. The Vad Vuc have released 2 EPs, 2 live albums and 5 studio albums. The line-up has varied from the 9 members on “Il Monastero dei Folli” (2.004) to the 8 members on “Disco Orario” (2017). In fact, 3 current members recorded the album from 2.004: Cerno (lead vocals, guitar, mandolin), Seba (mandolin, trombone, spoons, bckg vocals) and Jacky (bass, banjo, bck vocals). Boss (sousaphone, piano), was on board for “Trans Roonkaya Express” (2.006) and Fid (flute, tromba), Mago (accordion), Drugo (drums) and Albi (fiddle) joined the band after “La Parata dei Secondi” (2.009).

“Pint of Guinness” is the track that opens the album. The Vad Vuc comes back to the Celtic punk/rock from their early days. Lively song featuring an Irish traditional tune.

“Carmen” is a song with the classic The Vad Vuc sound. Echoes from The Pogues and Modena City Ramblers on this interesting song.

“Rendez Vous” was the first single and there is a video for this number. After listening to this song I’m wondering if X-Fanekaes, the young band from Valencia, loves The Vad Vuc, as the musical approach is similar.

“Chat Noir” is an intimate number that is followed by The Vad Vuc's rendition of The Pogues “Thousands Are Sailing”. The final mix is respectful with the original, but there are some outstanding things on this cover. First of all, some guys from Modena City Ramblers guest on this number: Davide “Dudu” Morandi on lead vocals, Franco D’Aniello (tin whistle, transverse flute) and Francesco “Fry” Monetti (fiddle). Secondly, “Dudu” sings his part in Modenese dialect and Cerno sings in Ticinese dialect.

The Vad Vuc have always chosen great musicians as guests (for instance, Steve Wickham from The Waterboys, Luca Crespi from Uncle Bard & The Dirty Bastards, Finny McConnell from The Mahones or the Irish accordionist Sharon Shannon). This time they have recorded “Finnegan’s Wake” with The Dublin Legends. When banjoist Barney McKenna passed away and fiddler John Seahan decided to leave, the remaining members of The Dubliners re-formed as The Dublin Legends. Cerno sings the Ticinese lyrics and Paul Watchorn sings the Irish lyrics. Boss plays sousaphonehe on a song that has been perfectly arranged by The Vad Vuc. The next track is stuck to this one, so it could be said that it’s a sort of outro: “Dubliner’s March”. This excellent instrumental has been written by The Vad Vuc and features Gerry O’Connor from The Dublin Legends on tenor banjo.

“Rügin” is the second single from “Disco Orario” and the video for this number can be watched here. The song was written one afternoon watching TV and zapping.

Track no. 9, “Il ballo fermo d’un impicato” features Cerno on ukulele. It’s a slow number with a The Pogues twist. The lyrics are about a guy who kills her wife and then commits suicide. The guy tries to explain the reason for this, but all of them are nonsense. Amazing song talking about one of the biggest problems in modern society, domestic violence.

“Se quéstu l’é un óm” is an upbeat country number with accordion, banjo, fiddle and sousaphone. Some musicians from Make Plain guest on this number: Luca Imperiale on harmonica and vocals and Andrea Zinzi on electric guitar and vocals. This song is The Vad Vuc’s tribute to Italian partisan and writer Primo Levi.

The next cut, “Korobeiniki” is a traditional Russian number. The intro and the outro sound like those old video-games from the late 70’s-early 80’s, and the tune gets an addictive ska-punk treatment à la Talco.

“Disco Orario” comes to its end with “Addormentato in stazione”, probably the most “pop” song on the album. The song finishes up at 5:47. At 10:42 there is a hidden track. I guess that it’s titled “Moriremo (We’ll Die)”. There are gang vocals, some strings and sousaphone.

The Vad Vuc “Disco Orario” is a labour of love. An original six panel packaging includes a 20 page booklet. All the info is stated at the booklet, the credits and musicians on every track, the lyrics to all of the songs, the translations to Italian from the Ticinese dialect, pics for every song, studio credits and the pics of every member when they were kids.

Yes, I’ve enjoyed “Disco Orario”. IMHO, The Vad Vuc are a kick-ass band, probably one of the best bands on the European folk-punk-rock scene. Irish music, country, ska, songwriter folk music … they play different styles and the final blend is awesome. If you like modern folk music, even if you don’t speak Italian, grab a copy of  “Disco Orario”.

Track listing:

01. Pint of Guinness
02. Carmen
03. Rendez-vous (feat. Jgor Gianola)
04. Chat Noir (feat. Zeno Gabaglio)
05. Thousands are sailing (feat. Modena City Ramblers)
06. Finnegan’s wake (feat. The Dublin Legends, The Dubliners)
07. Dubliner’s march (feat. Gerry O’Connor)
08. Rügin (feat. Fabrizio Barale)
09. Il ballo fermo di un impiccato
10. Se quéstu l’è un óm (feat. Make Plain)
11. Korobeiniki
12. Addormentato in stazione


Website
Facebook
Twitter
Soundcloud
Wikipedia

Click to buy

CeDe CH
Amazon. it

iTunes
 
 

Review by Kinksmarkham

2017-06-05 ALBUM REVIEW - THE DOWNS FAMILY "A Penny's Worth of Pillage" (2017)

The Downs Family "A Penny's Worth of Pillage"
Release date: March 17, 2017
Running time: 31:02, 10 tracks

A lot of Celtic punk fans are happy because 2017 seems to be the “comeback” year. We have had no new albums from Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys and The Tossers for a while and they have released new albums in 2017. But other acts have come back after a longer “hiatus”. The Peelers have issued their second album “Palace of the Fiend” thirteen years after their previous effort from 2004 “Liquordale”. And San Diego’s finest The Downs Family have recently delivered their third album.

The Downs Family are one of the oldest first wave Celtic punk bands from the U.S.A. In fact, they pre-date the likes of The Tossers, Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly.  The Downs Family were originally Dave Dick (guitar, vocals), Brendan Berg (guitar, vocals), Brian Van de Wetering (tin whistle, mandolin), Dave Gardner (bass), Vaughn Franklin (drums), Nora Brackenbury (banjo) and Chris Cruise (accordion). They released their first cassette tape in 1992. Twelve songs, half of them recorded live at The Casbah in San Diego. In 1993 they issued their single “Finnegan’s Wake / Falling down Drunk”. Their debut album “Beer is Like a Dog... It Knows When You’re Scared” featuring 9 originals and 3 standards followed in 1994. However, it was not a good year for The Downs Family: their accordion player committed suicide and their banjo player left the band to live in another city. In 1996, with Ernest Cline on banjo, they released their second album, “Top o’ the World”, featuring five original songs and eight traditional songs (Irish and American). The band never disbanded officially, but family and work commitments only allowed the odd Saint Patrick’s Day gigs. Fortunately, they reformed in 2014 and their third CD “A Penny’s Worth of Pillage” is out now.

There are two outstanding things about the new CD. First of all, 4 out of 6 members are “original” members. Dave Dick, Brendan Berg, Brian van de Wetering and Vaughn Franklin have been joined by “new” members Tiffany Lynne Sieker (fiddle) and Mongo Moglia (bass). Secondly, all of the songs have been written by the band, 8 songs by Dave Dick and 2 songs by Brendan Berg.

“Fake ID at the Pearly Gates” is the first song on the album. Dave Dick put lyrics to the tune to Billy’s Bragg “Help Save the Youth of America”. The sound is 100% US Celtic punk, with in yer face fiddle and tin whistle à la The Skels. Excellent number to open the CD.

”I was a Jerk to John Goodman” kicks off with mandolin. This lively song features Mozart Piano Sonate no.15 K. 545 C Major 1st movement played by Tiffany on fiddle. It was a great idea to blend classical music with folk (punk) music and the final result is flawless.

The following song is a quieter number, “Pocket Full of Bent 20s”. Nice mandolin and fiddle sound on a song that reminds me partially of The Mahones “Is This bar Open till Tomorrow?” intro.

“Nancy Walker” is another song that I love: an excellent comedy number with a Big Bad Bollocks twist. The Downs Family are able to write songs with different sound and influences. For instance, “Highwayman's Lament” is a kick-ass number. The fiddle and the guitar give the song a British folk-rock touch, but there’s great tin whistle and impressive vocals.

New territory on the next cut, “Days Gone Crazy”. This track is an interesting rocking number backed by tin whistle and fiddle. It’s followed by the country infused song “Dog with Opposable Thumbs”. Brian switches from tin whistle to mandolin and the vocals remind me of Bob Dylan.

Once again, Brian plays mandolin instead of tin whistle on the fiddle rock song “Stumbalina”.

“The Ghost of La Posta” is a sort of Mexican Misfits enjoyable upbeat number that opens the path for the closing number. “Pirate Song” needs no introduction. A pirate song is a pirate song. Mainly instrumental track based on tin whistle, mandolin, guitars and percussion with some ha-ha and Rum! Shouts. After 2:22 minutes the song is apparently over, but turns into an extended version of “King of the Fairies”.

“A Penny’s Worth of Pillage” comes in a gatefold sleeve. Line-up, studio credits, track listing and song credits are stated on the packaging, together with a quote from Shakespeare’s Henry VI.

If you are not familiar with The Downs Family’s previous albums, don’t worry. Just buy “A Penny’s Worth of Pillage”. I’m sure that you’ll love it and then you’ll try to track down their elusive early recordings.

Track listing:

01. Fake I.D. at the Pearly Gates 2:17
02. I Was a Jerk to John Goodman 1:55
03. Pocket Full of Bent 20s 3:04
04. Nancy Walker 1:46
05. Highwayman's Lament 3:49
06. Days Gone Crazy 2:23
07. A Dog with Opposable Thumbs 3:25
08. Stumbalina 3:28
09. Ghost of La Posta 2:51
10. Pirate Song 6:07

Website
Facebook
MySpace

Click to buy

CDbaby
Amazon

Review by Kinksmarkham

2017-06-04 NAME YOUR PRICE DOWNLOAD - BOGTROTTER'S UNION "Old Songs & Stories Vol.1"

Over St. Patrick's weekend the band from Las Vegas Bogtrotter's Union  released their EP "Old Songs & Stories Vol.1", a variety of old and popular Celtic tunes reorganized by them. It's now for free (or donations) on bandcamp

They'd like to thank Def from Naked City Audio for dealing with them and Jamie Hayles for the artwork.

Some songs have been regularly on rotation on our 24/7 streaming radio Celtic-Folk-Punk.

Bogtrotter's Union on Facebook

Line-up:

Marshall Lytle: Lead Vocals, Banjo
Kevin Linsley: Mandolin, Back Up Vocals
Steven Viveros: Electric Guitar, Back Up Vocals
Jeremy Tunender: Drums
Nick Boswell: Bass Guitar, Back Up Vocals
James Dunbar: Bass Guitar, Back Up Vocals.

DOWNLOAD:

Bandcamp

2017-06-03 PADDYS HOME AND PUB PODCAST-EPISODES #24 and #25

These are the Paddys Home and Pub Podcasts from May 26 and June 3rd

Cousin Paddy's 24 dated may 26 features Mr. Irish Bastard, Shane MacGowan and The Popes, Greenland Whalefishers, Flogging Molly, The Peelers, The Dreadnoughts, The Fisticuffs, Black Irish Texas, Happy Ol' McWeasel and more

Paddys Home and Pub 25 Rain Rain dated June 3rd features The Tossers, The Lagan, The Mahones, Firkin, Celkilt, Blood or Whiskey, The Real McKenzies, The Peelers and more

Don't forget to give him a like on Facebook too.

Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD:

Podbean Podcast no. 24
Podbean Podcast no. 25
iTunes

2017-06-02 VIDEOS - THE CROOK AND THE DYLAN'S, BLACK WATER COUNTY, LORETTA PROBLEM

Some videos that have recently been added to the Celtic Folk Punk YouTube channel. Don't miss any update, subscribe!

The Crook and The Dylan's - A Drink with the Devil



Black Water County - The Painful Truth (Lyric video)



Loretta Problem - Welcome to the Circus

 

2017-06-01 EP REVIEW - RAIN IN SUMMER "Discordant Anthem from the Gutter" (2017)

Rain in Summer "Discordant Anthem from the Gutter" WLRV Records WLRV-007
Release date: April 22, 2017
Running time: 16:37, 6 tracks

The band from Bandung Rain in Summer is the latest addition to the WLVR Records roster. The label from Yogyakarta has already released CDs and cassette tapes by The Cloves and The Tobacco, Dirty Glass and Forgotten Generation, apart from the kick-ass compilation “Wind from the Foreign Land”.

Rain in Summer were established in 2008 . Their current line-up is Az-war Sidick (lead vocals and tin whistle), Weda (bass, bckg. Vocals), Sule (acoustic guitar, bckg. Vocals), Yopi (electric guitar), Opik (mandolin, guitar, bckg. Vocals), Luis (fiddle) and Essa (drums). This is their second EP, since they issued previously a 6 track EP titled “Untuk Kutaku”. Five of the songs from that EP can be download for free from Reverbnation or from some of our samplers.

The first cut is the amazing “Suara”. From the first notes we feel the Indonesian DNA. Drums, mandolin and fiddle open for the vocals. The tin whistle is added just before the chorus and after some whistling, shouts and drumming, the band speeds up. Second turn for the Suara chorus. Then, more mandolin and vocals and the chorus. Finally, another turn for the catchy chorus and a pub end.

The next song, “Are You Okay?” starts off with electric guitar and tin whistle and then the rhythm section and the fiddle come in. Gang vocals follow on an infectious martial chorus.

“Semua terekam dalam media” gets a punk treatment from the very beginning with electric guitar and strong drums. The vocals are backed by the mandolin. Gang vocals on the chorus, just before an electric guitar passage. The mandolin and the fiddle open the path for the full band end.

Track no. 4, “Kita semua saudara”, is not a fast-paced number. However, it’s one of my fave songs on the EP. A classic Indonesian tin whistle kicks off. Vocals are backed by the fiddle and the mandolin. A catchy gang vocals chorus arrives and then some tin whistle and fiddle. The song comes to its end with tin whistle, mandolin and fiddle and some woah woah shouts.

“Eksplotaisi” moves again to the punk end. First of all, vocals backed by electric guitar and the rhythm section and the mandolin are added. Then, the number turns into a fast-paced anthem featuring great electric guitar.

The EP is over with a gem: “Warrior”. The acoustic instruments (tin whistle, fiddle and mandolin) are perfectly blended with the electric guitar on this Stiff Little Fingers sounding number.

“Discordant Anthem from The Gutter” was released on Record Store Day 2017 and only 100 CD copies were pressed.

Rain In Summer “Discordant Anthem from the Gutter” is another proof that the Indonesian scene is alive and kicking.

Track listing

1 - Suara 2:48
2 - Are You Okay? 2:42
3 - Semua terekam dalam media 2:56
4 - Kita semua saudara 3:17
5 - Eksploitasi 1:56
6 - Warrior 3:11


Facebook
Reverbnation
Twitter

Label contact:

wlrv.record@gmail.com

Review by Kinksmarkahm