2017-12-22 THE BEST OF 2017 CELTIC PUNK / ROCK ALBUMS AND CELTIC PUNK / ROCK EPs AND MINI-ALBUMS

As you're interested in checking out the lists, just a comment: these are, IMHO,  the most enjoyable CDs of 2017.

ALBUMS TOP40

40 albums from 15 countries:

9 from the USA
4 from Canada
4 from France
4 from the UK
3 from Germany
3 from Serbia
2 from the Czech Republic
2 from Italy
2 from The Netherlands
2 from Switzerland
1 from Begium
1 from Hungary
1 from Rumania
1 from Spain
1 from Ukraine

1 - The Peelers "Palace of the Fiend" Review
2 - Celkilt "Stand" Review
3 - The Tossers "Smash the Windows" Review
4 - Drunken Dolly "Alcoholic Rhapsody" Review
5 - Uncle Bard & The Dirty Bastards "Handmade!" Review
6 - Black Water County "Taking Chances" Review
7 - Kilmaine Saints "Whiskey Blues & Faded Tattos" Review
8 - Flogging Molly "Life's Good" Review
9 - Ferocious Dog "Red" Review
10 - The O'Reillys and The Paddyhats "Sign of the Fighter" Review
11 - Sons of O'Flaherty "The Road not taken" Review
12 - O'Hamsters "Gde by ni byvali" Review
13 - Tortilla Flat "Forward to the Past" Review
14 - Craic "Sounds of Vandemark" Review
15 - Cheers! "Daily Bread" Review
16 - Nevermind Nessie "Best of Foes" Review
17 - Cockswain "For the Whiskey" Review
18 - The Downs Family "A Penny's Worth of Pillage" Review
19 - The Vad Vuc "Disco Orario" Review
20 - Potatoe Famine "Drink the Pub Dry" Review
21 - Toxic Frogs "The Mermaid's Song" Review
22 - The Real McKenzies "Two Devils Will Talk" Review
23 - The Feelgood McLouds "s/t" Review
24 - The Drunken Lazy Bastards "Born to be Drunk" Review
25 - Brutus' Daughters "Hueso y Madera" Review and Free Download
26 - McScallywag "Dirty Water" Review
27 - The McDrinkers "Another Drunken Night" Review
28 - Mudmen "Old Plaid Shirt" Review
29 - Irish Stew of Sindidun "City of Grigs" Review
30 - The Scarlet "Hardfolk Shanties" Review
31 - Cassidy's Brewery "One Brew over the Cuckoo's Nest" Review and Free Download
32 - Selfish Murphy "Another Fork in the Road" Review
33 - In for a Penny "One Last Hurray" Free Download
34 - The Babes "Greetings from London" Review
35 - Orthodox Celts "Many Mouths Shut!" Review
36 - Matilda's  Scoundrels "As the Tide Turns"       
37 - Restless Feet "Homeward Bound" Review
38 - Hooligan's Mountain "Dalle strade, dalle valli" Review
39 - The Templars of Doom "Bring me the Head of John the Baptist"  Review
40 - Benjaming's Clan "Sedm Statecných" Review



EPs AND MINI-ALBUMS TOP25

25 EPs or mini-albums from 13 countries

4 from Hungary
3 from France
3 from the USA
2 from Australia
2 from Canada
2 from Indonesia
2 from Russia
2 from Spain
1 from Argentina
1 from Brazil
1 from The Netherlands
1 from Sweden
1 from Ukraine


1 - Brick Top Blaggers "The Fury" Review
2 - Black Rawk Dog "Suburban's Folk Stories" Review
3 - Sailors Grave "Baytin the Voyage" Review
4 - The Mullins "Beers & Feelings" Review
5 - Black Anemone "In it for Life" Review
6 - Firkin "Into the Night" Review
7 - Jolly Jackers "Blood Sweat and Beer" Review
8 - Hawthorn "RavenWood" Name Your Price Download
9 - Barleycorn Bastards "Hops & Dreams" Review
10 - Bogtrotter's Union "Old Songs & Stories Vol. 1" Name Your Price Download
11 - Three Finger Shot "Stories from a Small Town" Review
12 - The Black Watch "First Shot" Review
13 - Raise My Kilt "Gaitas y tanos" Review
14 - Rawlins Cross "Rock Steady" Review
15 - McMiners "Tales of Betrayal and Deceit" Review
16 - The Fatty Farmers  "Efecto Farmer"   
17 - Lád Cúig "Nosaltres sols" Name Your Price Download
18 - The Green Duck "2ème EP" Review
19 - Rain in Summer "Discordant Anthem from the Gutter" Review
20 - The Crazy Rogues "Rebels' Shanties" Review and Free Download
21 - Shamrocks "Ye Olde Chariot" Review
22 - Highland Bastards "Let's Folk" Review
23 - BoghZH Celtic Cats "Kazh al lagenn" Review soon 
24 - Zuname "Nothing Can't Stop Me" Free Download
25 - The Dead Maggies "Wild Dogs and Flannies" Review

Other interesting stuff that has been issued in 2017: "Poxmen of the Horslypse - Tribute to Horlips", released by John Murphy (Shite'n'Onions) the second album by Canadian band Morgan, "Morgan Deli" (cow-punk at its best) and Gary Miller "Mad Martins" 50 track triple CD (review in January 2018. Stay tuned! )

 
BTW, don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel!  and listen to our 24/7 streaming radio Celtic Folk Punk on radionomy.

Thanks again to all the bands for sending their stuff and special thanks to my mates Phil (PaddyRock), Scott (Paddys Home and Pub Podcast) and Mark (London Celtic Punks) for their friendship and support.



REMARKS

1) As usual, this post is titled as “the best of”. However, this is not a competition, but a sort of game. Remember that I give neither points, nor stars to the albums that are reviewed. I’d say that, IMHO, this is the list of the most enjoyable albums of 2015.  It's a party!

2) This list is subjective, but not unfair: it covers the albums that I have enjoyed. Other lists are being posted on other sites and they'll be different. And I feel that diversity is good.

3) Important: please remember that it’s a list of albums, not a list of bands.

4) I've tried to be coherent. Everybody should know that I prefer original material to over-exposed standards.

5) Please remember that I'm only a fan. Maybe some albums are technically or musically better than others. I have taken into account catchy songs, fresh approaches, innovation and maybe I've given priority to raucous sounds rather than to polished sounds.

6) Yes, this is a Celtic Punk e-zine. Then priority has been given to Celtic punk bands, but you'll also find quite a few Celtic rock and folk punk bands.

7) Only the albums that have been received for review/airplay purposes and/or that have been shared for free by the bands have been rated. Other recordings were released in 2017, but unfortunately no copy was submitted or they got lost on their way to Spain.

8) This Best of 2017 covers the CDs that have been released from December 2016 to December 2017. As you can see, some CD were released in 2016. I’ve decided to rate them on the 2017 list ONLY after having checked that they were not reviewed on any other Celtic punk / rock e-zine in 2016. I’ve got them in 2017 and I feel that a lot of fans didn’t notice that those CDs were released before having read my review. Then, I’ve considered them as a 2017 release.

9) Neither live albums, nor covers albums have been taken into account. The same applies to compilations/best of albums.

10) To be at the bottom of the list doesn't involve that an album is rather poor. The difference between the 11th place and the 25th place would be a tiny nuance. The same applies to the places going from 26th to 40th.

11) Several songs from these albums have been added to the streaming radio along the year and they are regularly played.

http://www.radionomy.com/en/radio/celtic-folk-punk/index


12) To the fans: feel free to share your comments. No trolls, please!

13) To the bands: it’s extremely difficult to rank every recording and I guess that some people won’t be happy. However, I really appreciate and respect the hard work by every single band. The quality of all of the recordings has been very high!

2017-10-02 EP REVIEW - BRICK TOP BLAGGERS "The Fury" (2017)

Brick Top Blaggers "The Fury"
Release date: September 30, 2017
Running time: 23:49, 6 tracks

Fortunately, Brick Top Blaggers are back with a 6 track EP titled “Fury”. The band from Orange County, California is one of our fave bands and they released two brilliant albums in 2011 (“Coaster”, review here) and 2013 (“Two Years Enough”, review here) apart from an EP in 2013 (“Plastic Paddy”, review here).

Some line-up changes have taken place. Nolan Bryan Lynch played banjo, mandolin and bouzouki from May 2011 to December 2014 and now Bill Singer plays those instruments. Phoebe Camiletti was the fiddler for a couple of years, but she left the band at the beginning of 2016 and the current fiddler is another girl, Karin Dell. And above all, one of the founding members and most respected musicians on the So-Cal Celtic punk scene left the band in October 2015 to spend much needed time with his family: accordionist, whistler and piper Matt Maulding.

4 years have gone by since their previous CD was issued, but the wait was worth it. “The Fury” is a badass EP. After several spins, you will feel that it’s too short. Yes, the quality is so high that fans will be looking forward to listening to a new full album soon.

The first tow cuts are high voltage Celtic punk. “On the Mend” showcases Bill’s mandolin and Daniel’s guitar. Their duel is followed by Karin’s fiddle, and Steve vocals are spotless. “Bloody Knuckles” is a fiddle led song with an amazing guitar work by Daniel. Steve reminds me of Mark Chadwick, the Levellers vocalist.

The next two tracks have a similar slow start with fiddle and guitar, but they evolve in different directions. “One Word”’s intensity is growing little by little, but “The Fury” burst into an excellent Celtic punk number.

“Last Call” is a highlight and will soon become a crowd favorite. Catchy number with banjo, fiddle and chorus to sing along. The closing track, “The Mountain” is the longest song on the EP and gets a (folk)rock treatment.

“The Fury” has been released at Get Shamrocked festival in Murrieta, California and, will be soon available at the main digital platforms. Grab a copy and enjoy. I’m sure that “The Fury” will be at the top of the Best EPs of 2017.

Track listing:

1 - On the Mend 3:13
2 - Bloody Knuckles 3:33
3 - One Word 3.59
4 - The Fury 4:37
5 - Last Call 2:59
6 - The Mountain 5:28

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Reverbnation
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Click to buy

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Review by Kinksmarkham

 

THE BEST CELTIC PUNK/ROCK ALBUMS LIST OF 2013

This is the list of the best Celtic punk-rock albums of 2013.

Some remarks:

1) Even if this post is titled as “the best of”, this is not  a competition, but a sort of a game. I prefer to say that, IMHO,  this is the list of the most enjoyable albums of 2013.

2) Please remember that it’s a list of albums, not a list of bands.

3) I always intend to push new bands. However, I feel that the best album is The Tossers "The Emerald City" and even if they are an old (an essential) band, they deserve it. 

4) I have rated only the albums that have been received for review purposes and/or that have been shared for free by the bands. Albums on streaming have not been rated.

5) Live albums have not been taken into account.

6) Albums without original songs (that is, covers albums) have not been taken into account

7) "Best of" or compilations have not been taken into account, since they are old material.

8) Unfortunately I have not been able to rate some albums that could have made the list, since a copy never arrived :-(

9) Nevertheless, I'm very happy with the list. It's been extremely difficult to rate the albums, because most of them were very good. In order to decide the final order I have had to take into account different things: original songs,  covers, production, packaging, artwork, liner notes, credits ... In fact, an album is more than a collection of songs.

10) This is really a global Celtic punk/rock albums list. There are albums sung in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Czech and Polish.

11) I intended to post a Top25, but then a lot of excellent albums wouldn't be on the list. So I have decided to extend the list to 35 albums.

This is the final list: 35 albums from all over the world:

23 from Europe (5 from the UK, 4 from Spain,  2 from the Czech Republic, 2 from Germany, 2 from Hungary, 2 from Switzerland, 1 from Belgium, 1 from France,
1 from The Netherlands, 1 from Poland, 1 from Sweden, 1 from Ukraine)
11 from North America (8 from the USA and 3 from Canada)
1 from Asia (Indonesia)

Reviews of 13Krauss "Seguir en pie" and The Tosspints "Have You Been Drinking" will be posted soon. Stay tuned!

01 - The Tossers "The Emerald City" Review
02 - The Black Tartan Clan "Don't Walk Alone" Review
03 - Bodh'aktan "Tant qu'il restera du rhum" Review
04 - Paddy and the Rats "Tales from the Docks" Review
05 - The Dead Rabbits "Tiocfaidh Ar La" Review
06 - Brick Top Blaggers "Two Years Enough" Review
07 - Lexington Field "No Man's War" Review
08 - SIR REG "21st Century Loser" Review
09 - Irish Moutarde "Raise'Em All" Review
10 - Celkilt "Everyday's St. Patrick's Day" Review
11 - The Vandon Arms "No Loyalty Among Thieves" Review
12 - Molly Malone's "Obled" Review
13 - Brutus' Daughters "Beating Beyond Folk Ashes" Review
14 - Gord Taylor "Gord Taylor featuring Patrick Kaczor-Santos" Review
15 - The Fatty Famers "Refarmatory" Review
16 - Bastards on Parade "Empty Bottles and Broken Things" Review
17 - The Lagan "Where's Your Messiah Now?" Review
18 - The Jack Ratts "Sail the Deadly Seas" Review
19 - The Cloves and The Tobacco "The Day with no Sun" Review
20 - Tortilla Flat "The Great Escape" Review
21 - Delilah's Revenge  "ST" Review
22 - The Royal Spuds "Wanted: Drunken'n'Alive" Review
23 - Loch Nesz "Dancing the Jawbreaker Jig" Review
24 - Cheers! "Wrong & Right" Review
25 - Stramash "The Lion Rises" Review
26 - Pint of Stout "Choose Your Devil" Free Download
27 - 13 Krauss "Seguir en pie"
28 - BlackEyed Dempseys "ST" Review
29 - Die Dödelsäcke "Volle Krauft Voraus" Review
30 - The Wakes "The Green and the Red" Review
31 - BlackPint "Orizzonte" Review
32 - The Devil's Rejects "13" Review
33 - The Tosspints "Have You Been Drinking"
34 - Benjaming's Clan "Století Páry" Review
35 - Paddy's Funeral "Celtic Voodoo" Review

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

Some interesting albums have not been rated. They are also Celtic rock albums but not so raucous. Anyway, they are fantastic albums:

Dravra's Wave "The Witches Recall" Review
The Fenians  "Take Me Home" Review
The Indulgers "Whiskey Tonight" Review

As I have previously said, no best-of/compilations albums have been rated. But, if I were you, I would download The Sunday Punchers "High Tides and B Sides", since it's a kick-ass album


I would like to thank ALL the bands for sending/sharing their music, and specially The Cloves and The Tobacco and Brutus' Daughters for mentioning Celtic Folk Punk and More on their albums liner notes. And obviously all the fans that have sent their leads and heads-up! about new albums. You know who you are.

Finally, a special THANK YOU to Beau from Lexington Field, for their support to every single Celtic punk/rock E-zine and podcast and to all the scene. Thank you Beau for making things easier to the people who write/talk about this kind of bands.

THE BEST CELTIC PUNK-ROCK EPs/SINGLES LIST OF 2013

This is the list of the best Celtic punk-rock EPs/singles of 2013.

Some remarks:

1) Even if this post is titled as “the best of”, this is not  a competition, but a sort of a game. I prefer to say that, IMHO,  this is the list of the most enjoyable EPs/singles of 2013.

2) Please remember that it’s a list of EPs/singles, not a list of bands.
 

3) It’s been a little bit difficult to rate every recording, since some of them have only two songs and other recordings have 3, 4, 5 or more songs. Therefore, I’ve tried to give priority to those having more self-penned songs. Then, some singles can be in a lower position only because they have two songs and one of them is a cover. Anyway, they’re kick-ass singles.
 

4) I have rated only the EPs/singles that have been received for review purposes and/or that have been shared for free by the bands.

So, this is the final list: 20 EPs/singles from all over the world:

9 from Europe (2 from The Netherlands, 2 from Italy, 2 from the UK, 1 from France, 1 from Hungary and 1 from Ukraine)
6 from North America (5 from the USA and 1 from Canada) 
3 from Australasia (Australia)

1 from Africa (South Africa)
1 from Asia (Thailand)

Thanks to all the bands  for sending their music to Celtic Folk Punk and More

1 - Vagrant Nation "One for the Gallows" Review
2 - Brick Top Blaggers "Plastic Paddy" Review
3 - The Royal Spuds "Start Your Engines" Review
4 - The Sunday Punchers "Sea Monsters"
5 - Black Water County "Welcome to the Black Water County" Review
6 - O'Hamsters "Celtic Crew" Free Download
7 - Craic "Hold the Penny" Review
8 - Error 99 "EP" Review
9 - Fox'n'Firkin "Roppongi" Review
10 - Uncle Bard & The Dirty Bastards "Up the Bastards!" Review
11 - The Ramshackle Army "Anchors Aweigh"
12 - The Black Shamrocks "EP" Free Download
13 - The Scally Cap Brats "Don't Look Back" Review
14 - The Maggie Whackers "Naoned Whisky" Free Download
15 - Tullamore "Eire-Celtic Punk" Review
16 - Pirate Copy "The Shape of Piracy to Come" Free Download
17 - Fox'n'Firkin "To Hell and Back" Free Download
18 - The Scarlet "Demo" Review
19 - LQR "Boxpok" Free Download
20 - The Toilet Cats "Shamrockin' Irish Tunes" Free Download

Enjoy!

REVIEW - BRICK TOP BLAGGERS "Two Years Enough" (2013)

Brick Top Blaggers "Two Years Enough" Blagthis
Release date: September 15, 2013
Running time: 50:17, 13 tracks

Sooner or later,   musicians confront a dilemma: to keep faithful to their first album sound or to move forward. Brick Top Blaggers have not waited to the “difficult third album” and have taken their decision before releasing their second album. They issued a fantastic 3 EP some months ago and their answer was clear: new instruments, new sounds and a lot of respect to tradition. “Two Years Enough” is the logical follow-up to that EP.

It’s true that the line-up of the band has changed, but most of the tracks have been written by Steve Almond (vocals) and Matt Maulding (accordion). And even if Greg Mintz is not a full-part member of the band now, he has written  “Two Years Enough” and “Love by Attrition” and co-written “Plastic Paddy” and “Witness to My Own Wake” together with Steve and Matt. Moreover, he has played guitar on 7 tracks. New members Nolan Lynch (5 string banjo, tenor banjo, bouzouki, mandolin) and Daniel Murillo (guitar) have also written or arranged some compositions.

Given that a couple of tracks were already reviewed on the EP write-up, I’ll focus on the new songs.

“Quitters Nevers Win” and “Coffin Ships” are The Pogues/Flogging Molly infused numbers. The former is a catchy number with a fantastic drums intro. The latter is a song about Irish emigration to Amerikay back in 1848 featuring “The Cooley’s reel”. Excellent fiddle work on this track.

Christy Moore or early Moving Hearts influences can be heard on “The Rising”, a song about the Easter Rising in 1916. The song flows perfectly from the acoustic guitar and uileann pipes beginning to reach its peak after accordion, mandolin, bass and drums have progressively joined. There is a spoken part, a excerpt from W.B. Yeats’ poem “September 1913” and a slow air written by Matt Maulding is also featured on this number. Amazing low whistle, by the way

Brick Top Blaggers are able to make easy something that I find too difficult. On their first album they covered a song that normally I didn’t love, but I enjoyed their rendition. They have done it again. I am not very fond of “Spancil Hill”. I like the lyrics, but not the music. However, BTB have arranged the song in such a way that the final result is perfect. If I have to raise an objection, maybe the “Morrison’s Jig” is an overexposed tuned. Anyway, I have really loved BTB’s cover.

Apart from Irish numbers, “Two Years Enough” showcases other musical directions. “Walk the Plank Again” is a kick-ass pirate number. “Eastern Promises” is the gypsy/Eastern European number featuring piano, accordion (both played by Matt) and fiddle (guest Paul Castellanos). “The Battle of Stirling Bridge” is a tribute to Scottish hero William Wallace. Did I say that Matt plays the Highland pipes on this album? This is one of the songs on which they are played.

Another number featuring the pipes is “Two Years Enough”. More lyrics about the Easter Rising (just have a look to the artwork and you’ll know why) on a song with a Flatfoot 56 twist thanks to the pipes and backing vocals.

Finally, “Love by Attrition” is an excellent song that could be filed together with the Australian seminal band Roaring Jack’s stuff.

“Two Years Enough” is a brilliant album that any Celtic punk fan should own. A must have. Hats off to Brick Top Blaggers.

Tracklist:

01. Plastic Paddy 3:04
02. Quitters Never Win 3:00
03. Two Years Enough 3:38
04. The Rising 4:50
05. Spancil Hill 3:58
06. The Burning of Bridget Cleary 3:23
07. The Battle of Stirling Bridge 5:05
08. Coffin Ships 6:17
09. Eastern Promise 3:49
10. Walk the Plank Again 2:40
11. Love By Attrition 3:25
12. Witness to My Own Wake 3:34
13. American Dream 3:34

http://www.bricktopblaggers.com
https://www.facebook.com/bricktopblaggers
https://twitter.com/blagthis

Lyrics:

http://www.bricktopblaggers.com/lyrics/

Click to buy:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bricktopblaggers3
http://www.amazon.com/Two-Years-Enough-Explicit/dp/B00F1DKHZY
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/two-years-enough/id701064026

Review by Kinksmarkham

THIS WEEK END- FEATURED ALBUMS AT CFPAM CELTIC FOLK PUNK RADIO

Brick Top Blaggers "Two Years Enough" and Jasper Coal "Drowning the Shamrock" are the featured albums at CFPAM Celtic Folk Punk Radio.

Six BTB and five Jasper Coal songs will be played at

9h00, 13h00, 17h00 and 21h00 GMT+1

on Friday 25th and Saturday 26th October.

http://www.radionomy.com/en/radio/cfpam-celtic-folk-punk-radio/index

http://cfpam-celtic-folk-punk-radio.playtheradio.com/

REVIEW - BRICK TOP BLAGGERS "Plastic Paddy" (2013)

Brick Top Blaggers "Plastic Paddy" Blagthis
Release date: 9 March 2013
Running time: 3 tracks, 9:55

Good news! Brick Top Blaggers, one of the best bands of 2011, is back with a kick-ass EP. Three fantastic compositions and no cover. Yes, if you were thinking that they were covering The Peelers, you are wrong: “Plastic Paddy” is a self-penned song.

Why should you buy this EP? First of all, only two of the songs will be featured on the next album. In other words, one of the tracks (“Fisherman’s Tale”) will soon become a rarity. Secondly, BTB sound and attitude are sharper and harder than ever. All the songs are really outstanding numbers. “Plastic Paddy” would be more South Chicago school than the other songs.  “Witness to My Own  Wake” would be Los Angeles school and finally “Fisherman’s Tale” would be a sort of a bridge between the Boston school and the English school.

Brick Top Blaggers sound really tight: great vocals (particularly on the first song), top-notch accordion by Matt Maulding and excellent guitar work on the first two tracks, always backed by solid band mates on fiddle, banjo and rhythm section. 

The “Plastic Paddy” EP is a leap forward on the band’s career. Don’t think twice. Go ahead and buy the digipack CD with the artwork inspired by "The Rising of the Moon”.


Tracklist:

1 - Plastic Paddy 3:03
2 - Witness to My Own Wake 3:34
3 - Fisherman's Tale 3:13

http://www.bricktopblaggers.com
http://www.facebook.com/bricktopblaggers
http://www.jango.com/music/Brick+Top+Blaggers?l=0
http://www.reverbnation.com/bricktopblaggers
http://www.last.fm/music/Brick+Top+Blaggers
http://www.myspace.com/blaggers
https://twitter.com/blagthis

Click to buy:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bricktopblaggers2

Review by Kinksmarkham

SAMPLER - SOME "BEST OF 2011" BANDS

This is the last sampler of the year featuring some bands that have been reviewed here (SIR REG, Hoist the Colors, Brick Top Blaggers) and other bands that made the Paddyrock Top 25 this year (The Fighting Jamesons, Scythian and The Langer's Ball). I have added some bonus tracks (The Mighty Regis, The Roughneck Riot and The Dreadnougths). As usual, all the tracks are available for free legally on the Internet: Souncloud, Reverbnation, Bandcamp, the bands' sites ...

1) SIR REG (Köping, Sweden)

http://www.facebook.com/sirregband
http://www.reverbnation.com/sirreg
https://twitter.com/sirregband
http://www.sirreg.se

Members:

Brendan Sheehy - vocals & guitar
Karin Ullvin - fiddle
Juba - bass
Chris Inoue - electric guitar
Mats Lindström - bouzouki
Erik Dahlqvist - drums

Discography:

"Sir Reg" (8 tracks, 2010)
"A Sign of the Times" (11 tracks, 2011)

Click on the title to buy the CD

2) THE FIGHTING JAMESONS (Virginia Beach,VA, USA)

http://www.thefightingjamesons.com
http://www.facebook.com/TheFightingJamesons
http://www.reverbnation.com/thefightingjamesons
https://twitter.com/fightinjamesons

Mike Powers - Guitar / Banjo / Vocals
Jon Bidanset- Bass / Vocals
Geo Bauman- Electric Guitar
Jeffrey McLaughlin - Fiddle / Mandolin
Paul Bidanset - Drums / Percussion

Discography:

"The Fighting Jamesons" (8 tracks, 2011)

Click on the title to buy the CD

3) HOIST THE COLORS (El Segundo, CA, USA)

http://www.facebook.com/Hoistthecolors.music?ref=ts
http://www.myspace.com/hoistthecolorsmusic

Members:

Josh Linden - Vocals, Mandolin
Sina Etesami - Acoustic Guitar
Fabian De La Torre - Bass
Jeff Murphy- Electric Guitar
Ryan Sharp - Banjo
Ivan De La Torre - Drums
Nick Morgan - Fiddle

Discography:

"Second City" (12 tracks, 2011)

4) SCYTHIAN (washington DC, USA)

http://www.scythianmusic.com
http://www.reverbnation.com/scythian
http://www.facebook.com/scythian
http://www.myspace.com/scythian

Alexander Fedoryka - Violin/Mandolin/Harmonica/Bass/Vocals
Danylo Fedorika - Rhythm Guitar/Accordion/Vocals
Josef Crosby - Violin/Bass/Vocals
Ben-David Warner - Banjo/guitar/fiddle/viola/mandolin/vocals
Andrew Toy - Drummer/percussion

Discography:

"Dance at the Crossroad" (14 tracks, 2002)
"Aidan's Orbit" (10 tracks, 2004)
"Immigrant Road Show" (15 tracks, 2007)
"Live Vol. 1" (15 tracks, 2009)
"Live Vol. 2" (14 tracks, 2010)
"American Shanty" (15 tracks, 2011)

Click on the title to buy the CD

5) THE LANGER'S BALL (St. Paul, MN, USA)

http://www.thelangersball.com
http://www.myspace.com/thelangersball
http://www.reverbnation.com/thelangersball
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Langers-Ball/78209741933

Members:

Michael Sturm - Guitar/Mandolin/Vocals
Hannah Rediske - Accordion/Penny Whistle

Discography:

"As I Roved Out" (12 tracks, 2008)
"Ships Are Sailing" (13 tracks, 2009)
"Drunk, Sick, Tired " (11 tracks, Live, 2011)

Click on the title to buy the CD

6) BRICK TOP BLAGGERS (orange County, CA, USA)

http://www.bricktopblaggers.com
http://www.twitter.com/blagthis
http://www.reverbnation.com/bricktopblaggers
http://www.facebook.com/bricktopblaggers

Members:

Steve Almond - Vocals
Greg Mintz - Guitar
Matt Maulding - Accordion, Whistles
Dustin Lindberg - Bass
Nolan Lynch - Mandolin
Mark Powel - Drums

Discography:

"Coaster" (10 tracks, 2011)

DOWNLOAD LINK:

http://www.mediafire.com/?7oe7c76yeg543ol

BRICK TOP BLAGGERS - NEWS JUNE 2011

"Hey everyone,

We wanted to send out one quick update about our upcoming shows in June and July.

We're very excited to be a part of this year's Irish Fair in Irvine on Saturday, June 18th and Sunday, June 19th. We will be performing from 2:30PM to 4:00PM both days.

In July we will be back at one of our regular residencies at Gallagher's in Huntington Beach on July 16th. We will also be performing at a brand new venue (for us), Nadine's Irish Mist in Sunset Beach on July 23rd. Both shows start at 9PM and go until last call.

In other Brick Top Blaggers news, we've recently been joined by two excellent musicians. Nolan is our new mandolin player and Mark is our new drummer. Please make sure to say "hello" to them at our future shows! They've brought a lot of great things to our sound and it's going to be a grand time as we head into this summer!!

Cheers!!

Brick Top Blaggers"


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REVIEW – BRICK TOP BLAGGERS "COASTER" BlagThis Limited (2011)

Brick Top Blaggers “Coaster” BlagThis Limited
Release date: March 18, 2011
Running time: 34:39,10 tracks


“Coaster” is the amazing debut album by the Southern California band Brick Top Blaggers (formerly The Blaggers). This 7 piece outfit consists of Steve Almond (vocals), Greg Mintz (guitars), Dustin Lindberg (vocals, bass), Matt Maulding (vocals, accordion, whistles, organ, bouzouki), Sonja Wyche (fiddle), Clement Barrera-Ng (Mandolin) and Colin McGrath (drums). The album has been produced by Matt and Greg and they have made a fine job. I love the sound, every instrument is played by excellent musicians and, moreover, all of them can be heard clearly.

Eight out of ten tracks have been written by the band members. Usually, a band has one or two songwriters, but Brick Top Blaggers have … FOUR. Yes, Matt Maulding and Steve Almond have written 3 tracks each one, Greg Mintz has written one track and arranged one traditional song, and Sonja Wyche has written another song. One could think that this could be a drawback (too many different directions in the album). However, I can state that this, had not happened and, together with the production, is the main strength of the album.

Matt Maulding’s songwriting is rooted in the modern Celtic traditional music. He has made it clear in the “Thanks” section of the booklet: “(thanks to) Kate Rusby, Ronnie Drew, Shane MacGowan, Andy Irvine and Andy Stewart, who help preserve and enrich the musical heritage of England, Ireland and Scotland and inspire me daily”

The beginning of “No Prodigal Son” has a sound that reminds me of The Whisky Priests. “Lady Liberty”, about Irish emigration to America, is also a “well-built” song, calm at the beginning, faster afterwards. And “Charlie Camden”, about an 19th century outlaw, is also a catchy song.

“Government Issue” lyrics are brave: a song asking why our young soldiers are sent to lands faraway. Steve comes from Brighton, East Sussex (England). So I guess that he likes the excellent song written by The Levellers “Another Man’s Cause”.

The second song written by Steve is “Goldstone Ground”. This is one of the highlights, a superb song. Steve hailing from Brighton, he had to be a Brighton and Hove Albion supporter like other East Sussex acts such as The Fish Brothers and Attila the Stockbroker. Goldstone Ground was the old BAHA stadium and it was sold in 1997. Today it’s a shopping mall. So, the song is about the nostalgia of the place. Celtic punk at its best.

Steve’s third song is “How Many Times”, which has a slightly influence by Flogging Molly.

Guitar player and producer Greg Mintz has written the other highlight from the album, “Oregon”. This song about Portland is really awesome and all the band members contribute to make it great.

Greg has not written “The Bold Harpooner” (a.k.a. “The Bonnie Ship the Diamond”), but he had really improved the song with his arrangements. This song has been recorded among others by Fiddler’s Green, but I have never been very fond of it. Now, after having listened to Brick Top Blaggers, I have really loved it.

“Walk the Plank” is the song written by the fiddler, Sonja Whyche. If you were expecting a mellow song, you are wrong. “Walk the Plank” fits perfectly with the rest of the album.

Special mention to the packaging of the album. When the packaging is unfolded, an excellent artwork composition can be watched: the colours of the Irish flag on pictures of wall of bricks, a ship and a sea monster …It’s not easy to explain you have to open it and watch it. Apart from that, an 16 page booklet, every lyrics in one page together with great background pictures, a two page picture of the band and full liner notes. Please, buy the CD instead of the digital version of the album, on the contrary you will be missing this labour of love.

Flogging Molly opened the door to new Celtic punk bands from California, firstly The Mighty Regis and now Brick Top Blaggers. I expect that little by little Brick Top Blaggers will be playing more shows outside California and their reputation will be growing all around the USA and abroad.


Tracklist:

01. No Prodigal Son 2:33
02. Government Issue 2:38
03. Finnegan's Wake/Whiskey March 4:35
04. Oregon Song 4:05
05. Goldstone Ground 2:46
06. How Many Times 3:06
07. Lady Liberty/Limerick Rake 5:27
08. The Bold Harpooner 3:19
09. Charlie Camden 2:40
10. Walk The Plank 3:26


http://www.bricktopblaggers.com
http://www.reverbnation.com/bricktopblaggers
http://www.myspace.com/blaggers
http://www.facebook.com/bricktopblaggers

To buy the CD from CDBaby, click here

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

To Buy the mp3 from Amazon, click here:

http://www.amazon.com/Coaster/dp/B004TMH19I/ref=mb_oe_o

Review by Kinksmarkham


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VIDEOS - BRICK TOP BLAGGERS

Live from the Galaxy Theatre, Santa Ana, CA on New Year's Eve 2010. Brick Top Blaggers opened for The Fenians and this is them performing an original song called "No Prodigal Son".





Live from the Galaxy Theatre, Santa Ana, CA on New Year's Eve 2010. Brick Top Blaggers opened for The Fenians and this is them performing an original song called "Government Issue".





Live from the Galaxy Theatre, Santa Ana, CA on New Year's Eve 2010. Brick Top Blaggers opened for The Fenians and this is them performing an original song called "Lady Liberty".




Live from the Galaxy Theatre, Santa Ana, CA on New Year's Eve 2010. Brick Top Blaggers opened for The Fenians and this is them performing an original song called "Charlie Camden".




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FEATURED BAND - BRICK TOP BLAGGERS

This month's featured band is Brick Top Blaggers. To listen to the songs, click on the reverbnation widget that is placed at the top of the page at the left. ("Goldstone Ground" is brilliant!)

"Without a doubt, Brick Top Blaggers is breathing new life into the Celtic music scene of Southern California. The band's love of both traditional Irish music and hard-hitting punk rock combine to bring a new, signature sound to the streets of greater Los Angeles. Their original story-lines and unique renditions of Irish classics demand that you hoist a pint, down a whiskey, and dance all night!

With monthly residencies at local Irish pubs, they perform at clubs and festivals from LA to San Diego. The band has opened for such artists as Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), The Fenians and the Young Dubliners."

(IMHO, they are better than The Fenians and The Young Dubliners)

Members:

Steve - Vocals
Greg - Guitar
Matt - Accordion, tin whistle, organ
Dustin - Bass
Nolan - Mandolin
Sonja - Fiddle
Colin - Drums

Discography:

"Coaster" (10 tracks, 2011)

(Click to buy from CDBaby)

http://www.bricktopblaggers.com
http://www.reverbnation.com/bricktopblaggers
http://www.myspace.com/blaggers
http://www.facebook.com/bricktopblaggers

STAY TUNED, THE REVIEW OF THEIR DEBUT ALBUM IS BEING POSTED THIS WEEKEND!

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