ALBUM REVIEW: 13 KRAUSS- ‘Redención’ (2019)

Spanish Celtic-Punk band 13Krauss may be part Dropkicks and another wee part Molly’s but 100% Celtic-Folk-Punk!

Redención is the third studio album (all independent releases) from Zaragoza based Celtic-Punk band 13Krauss. They were delivered kicking and screaming on 8th December 2012 and a year later they released their first demo Atlántida (available here for free download) which they followed up later that year with their debut album Seguir En Pie, which went on to to garner some great reviews from around the worlds Celtic-Punk media. This album was succeeded by The End Is Nigh in and again was met by universal acclaim from the scene and even went on to reach the dizzy heights of #17 in the London Celtic Punks Best Of 2016 awards. Not bad at all in a year when all the big hitters of Celtic-Punk released album’s. The band were formed as a straight up, heads down Punk-Rock band but after attending a concert by the legendary Real McKenzies it was decided to spice things up a bit and with the addition of accordion, fiddle and bagpipes a new Celtic-Punk band was set to hit the streets!

The album kicks off with ‘Dark Times’ and from the very start its fast and energetic Celtic-Punk but still tuneful. It’s a punk of course but Viktor’s banjo leads the song from beginning to end in a way that reminds me a bit of English band Mick O’Toole. 13Krauss tend to slip between English and Spanish in their songs and they do again on Redención with the majority in Spanish but Mario’s vocals are clear as a bell and Punky enough for the music too. On ‘Verte Perder’ Mario is joined on vocals by Pimen Tonazo from the Catalonioan band Milenrama for a punk rock duet and again the energy is in yer face! The pace they set only lets up briefly for the next track ‘Maggie Dickson’. The first release from the album back in March.

The song begins with some amazing fiddle from Guillermo with an Eastern European feel to it before the band kicks in and Mario tells the tale of the execution by hanging of poor Maggie. A cracking song that is one of the album highlights and even includes a bit of local flavour too showing that 13Krauss are not one trick ponies. We love to see bands taking in from influences from home and they are at it again on the next track ‘Años Perdidos’ which includes a nice bit of manic country style fiddle. They need to hang onto Guillermo he is one of the best fiddle players in Celtic-Punk I think. On their first album they were done and dusted in just over twenty minutes while on The End Is Nigh they expanded to just under thirty minutes and I have always thought they have rushed things along too much. Here though they have got the balance perfect with no compromise with the pace of the songs with nearly the whole lot played at breakneck speed but with plenty of room for them to be expanded on and the great news is that with the added depth to the songs they still never get tired. They leave the punk behind now for ‘Love At First Gig’ and a humorous look at a punk rock love affair and a song with its tongue firmly in its cheek with a Hillbilly/C’n’W tune that again shows some real quality in the musicianship of 13Krauss. Outstanding! With ‘Mary Tempestad’ we are back again in Celtic-PUNK territory and the albums longest song. Where once this would have flown by the Bhoys take their time and the song is another album standout. The album’s only cover has been well chosen and is a staple of Celtic-Punk bands around the world and for a good reason as ‘Star Of The County Down’ lends itself very well to being ‘punked’ up. Here the song is of course done brilliantly and I’m sure is a real crowd pleaser when played live. They slow it down again now for ‘El Sendero’ and while I cannot tell you what they are singing about I can tell you it is sung and played with passion and is one of them songs for raising a pint to the air and holding onto your nearest and dearest tightly. The bagpipes from the earlier releases are missing on Redenciónbut the album doesn’t suffer for it as on ‘Voces Quebradas’ where the dual sound of banjo/fiddle more than makes up for its absence. Gang vocals rule and here is a great example of them on my favourite tune here. We are heading towards the end and so far their hasn’t been a single weak song with ‘Mil Pedazos’ another standout kicking off with SLF style guitar before settling into a catchy Celtic influenced punk number before the curtain is brought down with perhaps the Dropkick Murphys influenced ‘Sinners & Liars’. The intro to the song anyway as before too long the song shoots off into traditional Irish folk and what I can say except a song you can well imagine Luke Kelly belting out with The Dubliners.

As usual in Celtic-Punk is it possible for the more folky fans to appreciate Redención and the answer is yes. I may have made it sound like Hardcore Punk but as fast as it is it is always accessible and catchy and the folk is always to the forefront in both melody and instruments. A great album that captures both the essence of Celtic music while never losing their Spanish identity and both work extremely well together. They may have once appealed more to fans of the Dropkicks but as they have progressed through their career 13Krauss have never towed the line and continue to do their own thing and that includes moving away from the more obvious DKM/Celtic-Punk sound to something that is both original and utterly brilliant!

(you can stream Redención on the Bandcamp player below before you buy it!)

Buy Redención FromTheBand (Download/CD) iTunes

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