ALBUM REVIEW: CHEERS!- ‘Daily Bread’ (2017)

Snarling, swirling, raging, roaring Celtic folk-punk brewed in Pilsen and tempered by accordion, whistles and flutes!

Cheers! are a band I have heard about for a few years now but bar a couple of tracks on compilations and the odd video here and there I hadn’t yet got round to properly listening to them till Daily Bread popped through my letter box the other day. They released their first single back in 2011 and their debut album Wrong and Right in 2013 and since then have toured extensively across their home country and throughout mainland Europe. They hail from the city of Pilsen in western Bohemia in the Czech Republic which is about 50 miles from the capital city of Prague. Of course the city is most known worldwide for Pilsner beer created in the city in 1842. The combination of Pilsen’s famously soft water, Saaz noble hops from nearby Žatec and Bavarian-style brewing produced a clear, golden (and delicious!) beer which was regarded as a sensation and is still a big hit today among aficionados of the odd drink or two.

(have a listen to the debut Cheers! album Wrong And Right below)

There have been a handful of Czech celtic-punk bands kicking up a storm with the most famous being the excellent bagpipe punk band Pipes And Pints, celtic rockers Benjaming’s Clan and the relatively new Pirates Of The Pub. The scene over there may not be massive but is in a very healthy state with many touring bands choosing to stopover and play, especially in Prague. That all these bands have proved popular outside their home country proves they all are doing something right and on listening to Daily Bread I can see why.

Cheers! left to right. Top: Pisek- Electric guitar * Mates- Accordion. Middle: Kata- Tin Whistle Maty- Drums * Fifa- Fiddle. Bottom: Laska- Bass * Pafka- Acoustic Guitar/ Vocals

I’ve noticed a trend recently of bands releasing videos for the opening song on their album’s. Maybe they always have and it just hadn’t clicked before but it does makes sense to kick your album off with one of your strongest songs and here Cheers! are no different opening with the great track ‘Chances’.

Fiddle and tin whistle provide the celtic side of foot-tapping and melodic punk rock. Celtic-punk is best suited to a pub environment and make a perfect place to film your videos and ‘Chances’ is no exception. The punk takes a back seat to some exceptional Irish folk music next in ‘London Days’. The story is of the many who come to London and fall through the gaps. The ones who don’t become rich and live their lives solely surviving. In my day it was the Irish, the Scots and the northern English and these days they come from across the world. A catchy, gang chorus and strong fiddle keep the song ticking over till the heartfelt ending.

“For life is quite short you know and to fall is not wrong at all”

This leads into ‘Misery’ and the accordion stands out here in an angry song about the faceless workers everywhere toiling away. The chugging guitar keeps it tuneful and ‘Dagger’ takes us down a different path with its upbeat Flogging Molly-esque Irish folk. Pafka’s vocals are strong and clearly sung in English. The CD has the lyrics but they are clear enough just from listening. ‘Here We Are’ is kind of Bad Religion meets Irish folk. Fast rapid drumming and accordion keep it going before next song, ‘Standard’, returns us to Molly’s territory and a song that starts acapello before familiar sounding fiddle takes over. Brilliant lyrics next in ‘Pie Of Shame’. Not about pie as you may think but the wish for a better and more peaceful world. It could be a bit cloying but isn’t at all especially as it lasts just a few seconds short of five minutes. I’m well jealous of songwriters with the ability to write like this. We haven’t had a slow one yet and ‘Saint Of The Scene’ comes at the perfect time. Poguesy accordion and a swirling sound surrounded by gang vocals and tin whistle and fiddle give it a perfect pint in the air feel. ‘Mr. Batter’ is a fast and furious tune with great funny story about a copper stealing bum who ends up on the wrong side of the law. Again Cheers! turn it on its head as just as your settling in they pull out something different to rouse you. ‘Hey Devil’ is next and the band this is most reminiscent of would be The Dreadnoughts fast as hell and completely led by Filip’s glorious fiddle playing.

They slow it down again next with ‘Land Where Nobody Lives’ which suddenly erupts into life and the tale of the prodigal son returning home ends with a Flogging Molly burst of life. We are rolling up to the end of Daily Bread and ‘Once We Reach The Ireland’s Bay’ takes the album to premier league status. The wonderful sound of uileann pipes from album guest Zdeněk Bugoš blaze a trail through this fantastic ballad. The sort of song I would love to push down the throats of the folk purists (snobs!) who say celtic-punk bands have no folk tradition or feeling. Cheers! nail it here with this song. Daily Bread comes to an end with the short and sweet and punky ‘Only Thing’. Seventy seconds of Dubliners style punk rock wraps things up nicely.

Thirteen songs clocking it at an impressive near fifty minutes! The music is of a solid punk rock backdrop with fantastic celtic musicians driving it along and Pafka’s great vocals atop. Very hard to pigeonhole Cheers! as they change tempo and their sound quite regularly on this album but despite that they have still managed to make a album that flows along very nicely. On this showing it’s easy to see why they have become so popular already and with only one album behind them that is is even more of an achievement.

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