2018-09-13 EP REVIEW - THE BARLEY HOPS "Rhymes from the Pub" (2018)

The Barley Hops "Rhymes from the Pubs" WLVR Records
Release date: July 14, 2018
Running time: 21:53, 6 tracks

We have been following and supporting the Indonesian Celtic punk scene from our very beginning. However, after the release of “Wind from the Foreign Land – An Indonesian Celtic Punk Compilation” everybody in the Celtic punk scene admitted that something was happening in Indonesia. Then, The Cloves and The Tobacco “Across the Horizon” reached the 4th slot at our Best of 2016 (albums) and Black Rawk Dog “Suburban Folk Stories” reached the 2nd slot at our Best of 2017 (EPs). Only one or two Celtic punk CDs are released every year in Indonesia. But all of them are worth hearing.

The Barley Hops had previously released a couple of tracks that are still available for free download at Reverbnation. Fortunately the 6 piece band from Yogyakarta have finally issued their first CD, a 6 track EP titled “Rhymes from the Pub”. I guess that this recording will top the Best of 2018 (EPs) together with The Grinning Barretts EPs.

The EP kicks off with the title track. “Rhymes from the Pub” is not an instrumental, but the lyrics are so short that one may think that this number is a set of tunes featuring the “John Ryan’s Polka”. This track set the pace for the rest of the EP: kick ass mandolin, badass tin whistle and lots of guitar together with yeah shouts.

The next track is titled “Barleys Drinking Team”. Some pub voices and then the mandolin and the tin whistle open for the rest of the band. Electric guitar and tin whistle shine on this powerful number.

“Glory never Fades Away” is an upbeat number featuring amazing mandolin and more tin whistle and electric guitar. The Indonesian DNA is obvious on this awesome number.

Cut number 4 is called “Fare You Well”. Some train sounds and then The Barley Hops deliver another catchy Celtic punk number with woah backing vocals.

“Homeland” is my favourite number on “Rhyme from the Pubs” and sometimes reminds me of The Popes “Holloway Boulevard”. Great electric guitar work in The Clash vein too.

The 6 track EP is over with “Sunny Side of the Street”. No, this song cannot be found on the excellent Russian compilation “Tribute to the Pogues” (Happy Ol’ McWeasel covered this track on that album). The song gets the Indonesian Celtic punk treatment and it’s an enjoyable cover.

A reduced version of the EP can be bought from Bandcamp (only 2 tracks). If you’re interested in the full EP, then e-mail the band’s label: wlrv.record@gmail.com


Tracking list:

1 - Rhymes from the Pub 2:39
2 - Barley's Drinking Team 3:26
3 - Glory Never fades away 3:44
4 - Fare You Well 4:35
5 - Homeland 4:22
6 - Sunny Side of the Street (The Pogues Cover) 2:55


Facebook
Reverbnation
Soundcloud
Instagram
Twitter

Click to buy:

Bandcamp


Review by Kinksmarkham

2018-04-23 VIDEOS - THE BARLEY HOPS, FIRE NEXT TIME, CELTAS CORTOS

Some videos that have just been published. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Then you'll be able to watch all the new videos before they are posted here.

The Barley Hops - Rhymes from the Pub

Fire Next Time - Collars

Celtas Cortos - Silencio

2017-01-07 SAMPLER - THE INDONESIAN COMPILATION 2017

Last year I focused on reviews, videos and free downloads, so no sampler was posted. However, my friend Lewdd "pushed" me to post a new sampler. I have put together 5 tracks that were posted as free downloads or on previous samplers and 6 new tracks and the final result is a new Indonesian sampler featuring 8 bands. Remember that all of these songs are played regularly at Celtic Folk Punk - Radionomy.

Other full Indonesian bands samplers are available here and here.

1) ROTTEN RIOT (Bogor)

Facebook

Twitter
Reverbnation

2) GREEN CLOVER (Magelang)

Soundcloud

Instagram

3) THE SHOOTDADDY'S (Kota Magelang)

Facebook

Reverbnation

Soundcloud
Instagram

Line-up:

Alfian Darmawan - electric guitar, bck. vocals
Wahyu- acoustic guitar, lead vocals
Eka Miun - fiddle
Bondan Prakoso - mandolin, bck. vocals
Galih Adi P - bass
Bagas Pandu P - tin whistle, bck. vocals
Prima Hopskin - melodica, vocals
Ardiansyah - drums

4) STRESS OUT (Malang)

Twitter

Reverbnation
Soundcloud
Instagram
Bandcamp

Line-up:

Hilal Alam (Kentung)- tin whistle, vocals
Rere - vocals
Irfan Setiawan - acoustic guitar
Irfan Arik - guitar
Gamma Fitrian - banjo
Ediashta Narendra - fiddle
RM Dhimas - bass
Fadhel Frismajaya - drums

5) ERROR DISTORTION (Sunter , DKI Jakarta)

Facebook

Twitter
Reverbnation

Line-up:

Ommy Distorsi - acoustic guitar, vocals
Black - drums
Letoy Kurniawan- bass
Cepak - lead guitar
Juant - tin whistle
Topik - mandolin

6) DISOBEDIENT KIDS (South Bekasi)

Twitter

Reverbnation

Line-up:

Prawira Ridzki- vocals
Ariesuman - bass
Batak - guitar

7) THE BARLEY HOPS (Yogyakarta)

Facebook

Twitter
Soundcloud
Reverbnation

Line-up:

Fajar - tin whistle & vocals
Muslich - acoustic guitar & vocals
Ilham - mandolin
Tommy - bass
Yuwan/Toro - electric guitar
Adam - drums


8) REBELLION ROSE (Yogyakarta)

Facebook

Twitter
Soundcloud
Reverbnation
Instagram

Line-Up:

Sinner - Vocals
Kmx - Bass
King - Drums
Amek - Guitar

DOWNLOAD (one by one):

Tracks 1 and 2 Reverbnation

Track 3 Soundcloud (click on "More")

Track 4 Reverbnation

Track 5 Bandcamp

Track 6 Reverbnation

Track 7 Reverbnation

Track 8 Reverbnation

Tracks 9-11 Reverbnation

REVIEW - VA "Wind from the Foreign Land - An Indonesian Celtic Punk Compilation" (2014)

V.A. "Wind from the Foreign Land - An Indonesian Celtic Punk Compilation"  WLRV Records
Release date: 26 June 2014
Running time: 54:01, 14 tracks

The BRICS  (Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, China and South Africa) bands are being quite active in the Celtic punk scene. Several Brazilian bands have released new stuff and South African band The Sunday Punchers have just issued their debut album (the previous one was a B-sides and rarities compilation). However, the most active scenes are obviously the Russian and Ukranian scene and the Indonesian scene.  Bands from both of them have followed a similar approach. A bunch of bands have gathered and recorded a compilation album. The Celtic punks from Russia and Ukraine have decided to record their own renditions of Dropkick Murphys material; the Celtic punks from Indonesia have had a most interesting idea and have released an album showcasing their own songwriting skills.

The “problem” with any compilation album is always the same: several songs are brilliant, some of them are good and others are fair (or even bad). Nevertheless, this is not the case. “Wind from the Foreign Land” is a well-balanced album. In fact, it has pointed out by my friend Pitxe that the album runs  as if it was a one band album, not a compilation, because all of the bands share a similar sound. In other words, the Celtic Indonesian bands have their own identity and they’re proud of it.

There is another important fact apart from that. The guys who have chosen the running order of the tracks have not used marketing tricks. It would have been easier to place the well-known bands at the beginning of the album in order to catch the listener’s attention. However, they’ve decided that  a couple of  new bands play the first two tracks of the album, and the bands that have already released an album or EP  play tracks no. 8, 12 and 14.

The totally new bands keep the top level of their better known partners. Party Time deliver a catchy song on which accordion, banjo, viola and electric guitar are played; Panglima Kumbang offer an amazing anthem with a Rancid twist, which is sung in English, featuring tin whistle and fiddle; Black Rawk Dog have also chosen the English language for their infectious song (Am I hearing some W.A. Mozart on the main theme?); Jeralex take a different approach, only acoustic guitar and mandolin, but their song about whiskey kicks ass; finally, Super Mario also join the party with their Dropkick Murphys influenced song.

A couple of bands are also new, as we recently discovered them and were featured on one of our samplers. The Barley Hops are another band with a future. They play a great song in English with tin whistle, fiddle, electric guitar and awesome chorus. Ciusquad follow a different path, they song in Indonesian, but they are quite attractive too.

We (fans and e-zines) were familiar with a bunch of bands and our expectations were very high. Fortunately, we have not been disappointed. Skarockoi song is a brilliant Flogging Molly infused number on which banjo and fiddle can be heard; Billy The Kid invest on their Indonesian pedigree and present a fantastic song in Indonesian featuring tin whistle and fiddle and an excellent electric guitar work at the end. Dirty Glass give us a preview of their upcoming mini-album, with a classic approach merging The Pogues and DKM influences; and Rain in Summer, which sing in their mother tongue, play another Celtic punk anthem with “woah” choruses and catchy tin fiddle.

The heavyweights of the Indonesian scene have also chosen their best stuff for this compilation. Charlie’s Rum and The Chaplin sing this time in Indonesian and they confirm that they are an essential band on the growth of the Indonesian scene; The Working Class Symphony have evolved from their previous work, but they are as solid as ever. And The Cloves and The Tobacco haven’t lost their King Midas golden touch.

The album artwork is a labour of love. It includes a booklet with the lyrics to all of the songs (9 in English and 5 in Indonesian), an introduction about the project and ALL the info about every single band on the album: logo, line-up and links to their twitter and facebook accounts, together with a contact e-mail.

The Indonesian scene is alive and kicking and a lot of bands have reached the age of reason. Other scenes should follow their example: passion, respect and solidarity. You know,  “Together We Stand, Divided We Fall”

Tracklist:

01. Party Time - Lagu Untuk Papah 3:23
02. Panglima Kumbang - My Scene My home 3:20
03. Skarockoi - Freedom 3:12
04. Billy the Kid - Bukan Hari Ini 4:38
05. Black Rawk Dog - The East Side Troops 3:09
06. Ciusquad - Kotaku Kebanggaanku 3:13
07. Dirty Glass - Anthem 4:17
08. Charlie's Rum and The Chaplin - Sama Rata Sama Rasa 4:57
09. Rain in Summer - Perjuangan Semut 2:37
10. Jeralex - Lucky & Whiskey 4:30
11. The Barley Hops - Reach Your Dream 3:21
12. The Working Class Symphony - My Friend My Enemy Too 3:40
13. Super Mario - Come On Bois 4:30
14. The Cloves and The Tobacco - The Indian Ocean 4:41

Panglima Kumbang - Twitter
Skarockoi - Facebook
Skarockoi - Reverbnation
Skarockoi - Twitter
Billy The Kid - Reverbnation
Billy The Kid - Twitter
Black Rawk Dog - Facebook
Black Rawk Dog - Twitter
Ciusquad - Facebook
Ciusquad - Reverbnation
Ciusquad - Twitter
Dirty Glass - Facebook
Dirty Glass - Reverbnation
Dirty Glass - Twitter
Charlie's Rum and The Chaplin - Facebook
Charlie's Rum and The Chaplin - Reverbnation
Charlie's Rum and The Chaplin - Twitter
Rain in Summer - Facebook
Rain in Summer - Reverbnation
Rain in Summer - Twitter
Jeralex - Facebook
Jeralex - Twitter
The Barley Hops - Facebook
The Barley Hops - Reverbnation
The Barley Hops - Twitter
The Working Class Symphony - Facebook
The Working Class Symphony - Reverbnation
The Working Class Symphony - Twitter
Supermario - Facebook
Supermario - Reverbnation
Supermario - Twitter
The Cloves and The Tobacco - Facebook
The Cloves and The Tobacco - Soundcloud
The Cloves and The Tobacco - Twitter


Contact WLVR to buy the CD

Review by Kinksmarkham

FEATURED ALBUM AT CELTIC FOLK PUNK RADIO

"Wind from the Foreign Land-An Indonesian Celtic Punk Compilation" is the  featured album at Celtic Folk Punk Radio this weekend. Fourteen bands from Indonesia:

1) Party Time

2) Panglima Kumbang

3) Skarockoi

4) Billy the Kid

5) Black Rawk Dog

6) Ciusquad

7) Dirty Glass

8) Charlie's Rum and The Chaplin

9) Rain in Summer

10) Jeralex

11) The Barley Hops

12) The Working Class Symphony

13) Super Mario

14) The Cloves and The Tobacco

The songs will be played at:

6h00, 10h00, 14h00, 18h00 and 22h00 CEST (Central European Summer Time)  next Friday 4 July 2014

2h00, 6h00, 10h00, 14h00, 18h00 and 22h00 CEST next Saturday 5 July 2014

2h00, 6h00, 10h00, 14h00, 18h00 and 22h00 CEST next Sunday 6 July 2014

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

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

SAMPLER - 2014 VOL. II

The new sampler is out!

Eight bands: 2 bands from Canada, 2 bands from Indonesia, 2 bands from England, 1 band from the USA and 1 band from Spain.


All the songs are available for free on the Internet:

Tracks 1-10 available at Reverbnation
Tracks 11-12 available at Archive.org
Track 13 available at Bandcamp
Tracks 14 and 15 available at Soundcloud

The songs can be downloaded one by one from those sites, or together from the link at the bottom.

1) THE BAD LADS (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada)

Reverbnation
Facebook

Line-up:

Dru Donovan - Guitar/Vocals
Don Hynes - Mandolin/Vocals
Cara MacDonald - Tin Whistle
Stu Hayward - Bass
Colleen Britton - Drums
Julia Clahane - Fiddle

2) THE McNAUGHSTYS (Los Angeles, California, USA)

Reverbnation
Facebook
Soundcloud

Line-up:

Shawn M. Callender - Vocals, guitar
Max Gillespie - Bagpipes, vocals
Alexei Acosta - Bass, vocals
Seth Hansen - Fiddle, vocals
Troy Tucker - Drums

Discography:

"Scraped Knuckles & Natty Boh's" (EP, 2012)
"The McNaughstys" (EP, 2014)

3) THE CROOKED HORN (Perth, Ontario, Canada)
 
Reverbnation
Band's website
Another band's website

Jamie - Bass
Bobby McGinnis - Lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Frank Guertin - Fiddle
Johnny - Drums

Discography:

"Home Brew. Live and Plugged" (9 tracks, live)


4) THE BARLEY HOPS (Yogyakarta, Indonesia)

Facebook
Reverbnation
Twitter

Line-up:

Fajar -  Tin whistle & vocals
Muslich - Acoustic guitar & vocals
Bayu - Fiddle & vocals
Tommy - Bass
Yuwan/Toro - Electric Guitar
Adam - Drums

5) CIUSQUAD (Klaten, Indonesia)

Facebook
Reverbnation
Twitter

Line-up:

Diick - Vocals
Youngky - Guitar
Viant - Bass
Thuthut - Melodica
Ferdi - Drums

6) CACHIRULOS XL (Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain)

Website
Facebook
Twitter

Line-up:

Scotty - Vocals and guitar
Jorge - Guitar
Jaro - Dulzaina, bagpipes from Aragon, tarota, whistle...
Nano - Bass
Marwan -  Percussions
Hasan - Drums

Discography:

"Esta Noche Mando yo!" (12 tracks, 2013)
"Ruge Dragón" (2 track single, 2014)

7) GARY MILLER (Newcastle, England, UK)

Website
Facebook
Soundcloud
Bandcamp
Reverbnation
Twitter

Discography:

"Stand Fast, Stand Steady" (with Ralf Weihrauch, 12 tracks, 2005)
"Reflections on War" (10 tracks, 2010)
+ the full Whisky Priests discography

8) GREEN ROCK RIVER BAND (London, England, UK)

Website
Facebook
Soundcloud
Bandcamp
Twitter

Line-up:

Matt Markwick - Fiddle, mandolin, vocals
Jeremy Sachs - Zhiter banjo, vocals
Paul Freeman - Guitar, vocals
Rebecca Freeman - Vocals
Bowden Smith - Bass
Mark Duddy - Drums
Sarah Mann - Trombone
Rich Stillman - Washboard and French horn

Discography:

"Rhinoceros" (10 track, 2014)
"Good Times " (4 track EP, 2012)
"Soaking to the Bone" (4 track EP, 2010)

DOWNLOAD:

Click HERE