2018 REVIEW ROUND-UP’S. PART TWO: EUROPE- SIGELPA, EAST TOWN PIRATES, LOCKS, IRISH STEW OF SINDIDUN,

Here is Part 2 of our 2018 Round Up’s where we catch up with some of the releases that we missed first time round. Here are four bands and a whole load of music to take in all at once so make yourself a cuppa and relax. Their is something here that anyone can enjoy I’m not kidding. From Celtic-PUNK to Irish trad and Nick Cave-esque Murder Ballads-ish folk-noir all these releases are highly recommended. We prefer to do more detailed reviews but we just couldn’t keep up with everything so a few slipped the net and ended up here as we didn’t want them to be missed out completely. After doing bands from the Celtic nations last week (here) today we are in Europe. Check up again soon where we will be featuring bands from across the world

SIGELPA- ‘País De Titellaires’ EP (FREE DOWNLOAD)

Sad to say this is the final release from one of the Celtic-Punk scene’s most innovative bands. Formed in Barcelona in 2010 this Catalan band are named after the acronym of the initials of the seven deadly sins in the Catalonian language. Superbia/ Pride, Ira/ Wrath, Gula/ Gluttony, Enveja/ Envy, Luxuria/ Lust, Peresa/ Sloth and Avaricia/ Greed making up the letters in their name. With several great releases behind them (all available for *FREE* from the bands Bandcamp page) Sigelpa have sadly thrown in the towel and bow out with this fabulous three track EP which is also available for *FREE*! In the Sigelpa tradition its over in a flash in only seven minutes. Iits all played at a frantic pace with accordion and fiddle leading the way but the standout thing about Sigelpa has always been the dual female/male vocals used to such great effect on the opening song ‘Oda A l’Odi’ which flashes by in a superb 100 seconds.

Not a bad song here with the single ‘País De Titellaires’ a high point but the final track for me cannot be beaten. Slow(ish) but catchy as feck with great rock guitar and fiddle and those gang vocals working brilliantly together. Sigelpa were always a brilliant band and one of my favourites in the scene. Everything they did had a great deal of thought put into it. With great politics, great musicians, great songs and a great spirit too they will be sorely missed. R.I.P. Sigelpa.

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EAST TOWN PIRATES- ‘Ship Of Fools’ (BUY)

A home grown band now hailing from the smugglers dens along the East Suffolk coastline of ye Olde Ipswich Towne they have come. With two critically acclaimed album’s behind them, 2011’s self-titled debut album on their own Rumrunner Records label and the follow up, 2013’s Seven Seas Of Sin they have been labelled quite appropriately as ‘Motorhead meets The Pogues’! A regular feature on the UK’s punk circuit and with regular headline appearances they are rapidly becoming one of this island’s better known punk bands. Similar in style to Pirate Copy from Kernow, who we featured in Part One of our Round-Up’s, in that while they have no Celtic instrumentation they do play in that style that is probably best known as Pirate-Punk that crosses into Celtic-Punk quite easily. So has the five year wait since the release of Seven Seas Of Sin been kind to them? Well you bet you last doubloon it has!!

We have twelve songs here clocking in at thirty six minutes and it is as catchy as hell throughout. It’s most definitely punk ROCK but has that accessible feel to it without compromising on their sound at all. At times it has the bluesy hard rock of AC/DC or The Quireboys and others the simple three chord majesty of vocalist Rikki’s last band Red Flag 77 who played just about every square inch of this fair isle in their time together. It’s not all fast as feck though and, it must be my old age, but I really loved ‘Dead Man’s Cove’ and ‘Betrayal’ which even though are the slowest songs here could hardly be described as ballads!! They even slip in a reggae tinged track ‘I, Hedonist’ which I’m not a big fan of but then I’ve always been in the minority there. Otherwise it’s the fast songs that dominate with the title track, the appropriately titled ‘Fast Track’ and ‘Voodoo Pirate Rock ‘N’ Roll’. The album ends with the standout track a re-working of ‘Prisoner’s Lament’ which appeared originally on Seven Seas Of Sin showcasing Rikki’s great punk rock vocals with just acoustic guitar backing before the song erupts and the rest of the band join in and leave the album on a real high. It’s all great stuff and just recently they have even been venturing to London a bit more so keep you eyes peeled for their next visit dust your waistcoat off, get your ‘Arrrghs’ in gear, shake your booty, and join in the fun with the motliest of motley crews around.

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LOCKS- ‘Skeletal Blues’ (BUY)

Now this is not the sort of release that features on these pages much but I’ve loved this record from the moment I first heard it. LOCKS are a four piece band from North London comprising singer-guitarist Locks Geary-Griffin, Andy Marvell on drums, Marian McClenaghan on fiddle and Mike Byrne on double bass. Together the band have dabbled in various musical genres prior to LOCKS including blues, rockabilly, trad Irish, indie, nu-folk and our very own Celtic-Punk as well. So the Celtic connections are high and on this basis they would easily qualify for the Irish football team! Having known Mike for more years than I care to remember since his days in one of the original London Celtic-Punk bands Pitful Of Ugly who later became Skibbereen and his rockabilly band The Obscuritones it’s nice to see him continuing to play in really interesting bands. LOCKS have been described as smoky, cinematic, and ghostly and the band themselves play up the comparisons to Tom Waits and Nick Cave and on hearing their debut album Skeletal Blues it is a comparison well worthy of them.

Locks voice is dominant throughout the album and its perfectly pitched accompanied by the fiddle, double bass and rattling drums which on album opener ‘Bones’ sound just like… well bones. The tone is set on ‘Bones’ with a song about burying dead bodies on the moors and be sure to check out the utterly fantastic video above written, produced and starring Abigail Hardingham. While it is ‘Bones’ that steals the show for me they also come close with ‘The Chase’, ‘Toes’ and ‘Skin’.

Back in 1996 Nice Cave brought out a CD Murder Ballads which comprised of him singing songs (old, new and traditional) of death and violence. It’s to that tradition that LOCKS come from with their tales of dead bodies, strange creatures and dark family secrets and like Murder Ballads is complete with both morbid humor and sobering horror. Dark lyrically the music veers from straight up gently played folk into eastern European at times while even finding time to pay the first couple of bars of The Pink Panther theme tune. Skeletal Blues ends with ‘Laveau’ about the voodoo Queen of New Orleans Marie Laveau. Though she died in 1881 it’s still a title she still holds today with people still visiting her grave to leave tokens in exchange for small requests. The longest song here at well over five minutes it gives LOCKS the chance to shine with Mike’s bass rumbling away fantastically and Marion’s fiddle drifting in and out of Celtic airs.

On first play I had assumed it was all fairly similar fair, due mainly to the hypnotic drumming style and Locks laid back vocals but upon a few more plays it became clear there’s a lot more to the songs than I had given credit. It’s a fascinating album and as I have said before man cannot live on Celtic-Punk alone so stretch your horizons beyond the Dropkick Murphys and be prepared to get into someone new and imaginative.

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IRISH STEW OF SINDIDUN- ‘City Of Grigs’ (BUY)

We end Part Two with easily the most blatant Celtic of our releases today, the fourth album from Irish Stew Of Sindidun. Born in Belgrade, Serbia back in 2003 it’s been six years since their last album, New Tomorrow, was released so it’s been quite a long wait but worth it! On City Of Grigs they have never sounded so Irish! With ten songs and three traditional Irish covers, ‘Paddy’s Lamentation’, ‘Step It Out Mary’ and ‘Down By The Glenside’, that are well chosen and show the bands connection with Irish music goes well beyond that of just a covers band. These songs topics feature the three most important subjects in Irish music, emigration, rebellion and romantic tragedy! It’s indeed a shame we don’t more folk like Sindidun vocalist Bojan Petrovic back at home when he explains

“these songs are not included merely to be album fillers, but because they speak of themes which are still actual. Irish music is much more than quick melodies, dance and fun; through traditional folklore Irish songs we keep remembrance of values of one culture, which are still worthy of reverence.”

City of Grigs is their most ‘trad’ sounding album so far and it really cannot be faulted. Besides the three fantastic covers are the bands original songs which are equally as good and they don’t get any better than the album’s lead single ‘Heavier Than Sin’. Absolutely amazing banjo from Ivan giving it a ‘Wild-Western’ feel but based firmly you know where. Bojan’s vocals are smooth and deep and fit in perfectly with the upbeat Irish music and dark lyrics. The song ends with an Irish reel and shows exactly what Irish Stew Of Sindidun are capable of. How these guys aren’t touring Ireland teaching the Irish to re-connect with their culture I don’t know!

All the songs here are great and as catchy as hell to boot but the standout tracks for me are the uptempo opening song ‘Strangers’, the jolly short’n’sweet ‘Drink And Sing’ and, the closest they get to a ballad here, ‘Holiday’. They even find time to mix in a bit of reggae alongside trad Irish on the superb instrumental ‘The Old City Keeper’ where Nemanja and her utterly amazing fiddle playing shines. Irish Stew Of Sindidun are one hell of a band and are absolutely massive at home in Serbia. That they aren’t as well known outside is criminal. Over half an hour of traditional Irish music with folk and rock not just welded on but added with care and love. It may have been six years since their last album but the band have spent it wisely improving on their sound when I didn’t even think it would be possible!

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So ends the second part of our 2018 Round-Up’s and apologies again to all the bands as each and every release deserved that full London Celtic Punks treatment. I can guarantee we have probably still missed more fantastic music so all the more reason to send us your releases to review. Get in touch via the Contact Us page to find out how. We are also always looking for people to join the reviews team so don’t be shy if you fancy giving it a go. If you don’t want to miss any of our posts then you can follow us by simply filling in your e-mail address in the box that is either below or to the left depending how you are viewing and you will receive every post to your in-box.