ALBUM REVIEW: NEVER SAY DIE – ‘Punk Rock Pirates’ (2020)

Maryland Irish PUNK-ROCK band Never say Die release their third studio album of loud blaring noisy as hell Punk-Rock!!

The journey of most Celtic-Punks (Particularly those of Irish descent and of a certain age) seems to be that you grew up listening to your parents music. This tended to be Irish Folk and Rock’n’Roll. This was replaced by Punk as they got a bit older and then at some point in their adult life the love of Irish Folk music came back to them and luckily their was a whole genre of music specifically for them! This was my journey anyway and for a solid twenty years inbetween the Folk/R’n’R of my childhood and my late thirties all I listened to was loud blaring noisy as hell Punk-Rock. Maybe its a mellowing but I’m as likely these days to listen to the Clancy Brothers as I am the Anti-Nowhere League but that’s not to say those days are completely behind me and so it is I love it when I hear a band playing that loud blaring noisy as hell Punk-Rock but with a Irish edge to it. Never Say Die are a band that does just that.

They hail from the strangely named Germantown in Maryland in the mid-Atlantic region of the South-Eastern United States. The town was founded in the early 19th century by European immigrants and was named Germantown due to the prominence of German businesses, even though most residents of the town were of English or Scottish descent. These days the Irish population of Maryland stands at just under 13% which is just above the national average and so no signs that the Irish are going anywhere and a good example of that is Never Say Die. They play good old fashioned Punk-Rock but with an Irish edge to it. You wouldn’t tell straight away as they have no Celtic instruments or any overt tunes but it’s there in the spirit of the band!

Punk Rock Pirates is the bands third album after Surrender Is Not An Option from 2010 and Convictions & Addictions in 2014. They also had six tracks on Live Your Gimmick from last year, a compilation from Tuna Forsushi Records featuring the classic ‘Irish Goodbye’. All their previous material is available on Soundcloud (link below).

The album kicks off with the band’s theme tune ‘Battlecry’ and it’s over in just sixty-five seconds. Gang vocals shouted over a fast and furious Punk number gives you all you need to know about where this album is going. It leads straight into Irish Folk and Celtic-Punk favourite ‘Drunken Sailor’ and Never Say Die play it dark and heavy. No great surprises here but its spirited and a nice nod to their Irish roots.

(Never Say Die live at Fishhead Cantina May 2019. Never Say Die performing ‘Battlecry’, ‘Drunken Sailor’ and ‘Saturday Night’)

They get into their stride with ‘I Hate Punk Rock’ and ‘Six Gun Lullaby’ mid=paced Punk but played with a heavyness making you imagine its lot faster. Vocalist and guitarist Captain Kelley has a great voice for this style of music with clear and distinctive ‘gruff’ vocals meaning you can hear every word he utters! Sadly though this as this album came out both bassist Thunderbilly and drummer Ziggy Bax both left the band. There’s never been a worse time to be in a band especially a DIY band but things are bound to get better so if you’re in or know some musicians near Never Say Die then send them their way.

(Never Say Die live at O’Gannigans Bar December 2019)

‘The Cursed Mariner’ is and to the pirates of the albums title while ‘I’ll Stand Strong’ slows it down with a Punk Rock ballad. Of course this means its nothing like your usual ballad but the same themes of standing strong in the face of daily life and keeping your chin up are present. The standout track for me here is the title song ‘Punk Rock Pirates’ and even those all the songs here are catchy dance floor fillers this is one that would even persuade the likes of me onto the pit. Never Say Die could, if they wanted, make a pretty damn decent Celtic-Punk if they went the acoustic route but I get the feeling that they make like the odd acoustic number like ‘The Legend Of Stingy Jack’ it’s not where their hearts lie and its songs like ‘Working Class Nobody’ where their full power comes into play that they prefer. Gang vocals and “Oi! Oi! Oi!” belted out alongside the important message of standing your ground and relying on you mates to get you through the bad times with the help of a beer or two. Like on many a Celtic-Punk album the theme of alcohol pops up regularly and ‘Raise Your Glass’ is another ode to that most wondrous of things! pretty much all the songs here hover around the two and a half minute mark which is on the short side of what we usually review but about average for Punk songs. ‘The Outlaw’ is the exception here and at three and a half minutes can be described as the Punk Rock Pirates ‘epic’ song. I like the extra length giving it a chance to develop and stray into both grunge and metal.

(Never Say Die live at Sparta Inn August 2019)

‘Breakaway’ is another great track. Well played, simple, no fuss, uncomplicated, no ego Punk. Chin up and chest out songs for simple, no fuss, working class people. The curtain comes down with another great number and ‘One More Time’ sees the album out admirably. Punk Rock Pirates was funded by the band and their fans through Kickstarter and they raised all the money for recording and printing the CD easily. The ‘clampdown’ over Covid came at the just the wrong time for Never Say Die and as their name suggests the show does go on and there’s a lot more to come from these guys I am sure.