Dropkick Murphys: The Meanest of Times
Dropkick Murphys' The Meanest of Times is out on September 17th
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Friday, 14, Sep 2007 01:55
HellCat Records, out September 17th.
In a nutshell
Fast, feel-good, shouty, rollicking, passionate.
What's it all about?
The Meanest of Times is the Murphys' sixth studio album and a paean to what J-Lo would call 'keeping it real'. With guest appearances from Spider Tracy of the Pogues and Ronnie Drew of the Dubliners, this is the follow-up to 2005's The Warrior's Code, which helped to boost the band's profile when one of its songs featured on the soundtrack to Martin Scorsese's The Departed. Another song, Last Letter Home, was based on excerpts from personal letters between a soldier who died serving in Iraq and his wife and mother. The band's leftist credentials are also evident in this latest offering.
Who's it by
In a big-up to down-and-outs and a general allusion to the dissolute lifestyle associated with some of their generic influences, Dropkick Murphys take their unusual name from a rehab centre in Connecticut. Hailing from Quincy, Massachusetts, the seven-piece band have developed their own brand of Celtic punk from a heady mixture of Oi!, Irish music, American rock'n'roll and hardcore since their formation in 1996. For the benefit of younger or mildly mainstream readers, Oi! emerged in the UK during the 1970s and can be broadly defined as 'punk rock for the streets'. Al Barr, Ken Casey, Matt Kelly, James Lynch, Marc Orrell, James Wallace and Tim Brennan have an eclectic musical pedigree, with accordions, bouzoukis, bagpipes, banjos and mandolins lending instrumental backing to their vocals and obligatory guitars. Influences include The Clash, AD/DC and, of course, the Pogues.
As an example
"In the town of Milton one Brian Flannigan / Battered away till his money was spent / Then he hit a big one and felt like a man again / Bought a three-decker with two floors for rent
He threw a big party for friends and relations / At a grand old place called Florian Hall / And if you'll just listen, I'll make your eyes glisten / To the rows and the ructions of Flannigan's ball." - Flannigan's Ball
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
They might have an ice cube in hell's chance, if it weren't for the bouzouki.
What the others say
"There's a real case to be made for bands like the Dropkick Murphys, bands that keep their focus narrow and do amazing work not in spite of their strict aesthetics but because of them. Critics like me have a really easy time writing this stuff off, repping instead for people who try to tell us deep universal truths or who make a big point of leaping genre boundaries. But the Murphys' blare can be as sweeping and universal as anything else if we approach it on its own terms" - Lisa Robinson, Vanity Fair.
So is it any good?
I have a confession to make: I was under the impression that Oi! was a rude means of apprehending someone. So the earlier definition can be read either as a helpful footnote, a futile refutation of my own conventionality, or - generally the best option - both.
I hadn't heard of the Dropkick Murphys, never mind heard them. In the first 30 seconds of opening track Famous For Nothing, I decided that I didn't like them. I heard my Grandma saying 'not more of that shouty music'; more worryingly, my mental self was expressing fervent agreement.
But - you saw that coming of course, even if you aren't naughty enough to have sneaked a peek at the bottom of the page - then I listened. After another thirty seconds I found myself thinking maybe it wasn't so bad after all. A further thirty seconds and I was singing along, rather feebly in a token admission of my fickleness.
Loud, harsh, rough and raucous, Barr's vocals seduce you into shouting along, rather less melodically than the Murphys in my case. By track three, The State of Massachusetts, I was hooked. This song is pure, aural passion condensed into four minutes of alternating jaunty instrumentals and anthemic singing.
Critics will say the songs are sameish, which has a grain of truth in it. But when they sound this good, who cares?
If you're after polished vocals, profound sentiment, teary ballads, slick production or anything approaching subtlety, this album is not for you.
However, Ms Mainstream over here is a complete and utter convert to its rip-roaring genius.
The Meanest of Times manages to combine the infectiousness and buoyancy of stadium rock, the communality and intimacy of Celtic folk and the edginess of punk - no mean achievement.
8/10
Meg Graham