NEW ALBUM: ZECKYBOYS – ‘Dirty Brands’ (2022)

Hot on the heels of their debut single comes the debut album from raucous and rowdy Italian Celtic-Punkers Zeckyboys.

After the success of their debut single a release I have been looking forward to hearing was the full length album from Zeckyboys (there is no ‘The’). With a winning combination of trad Irish Folk and full throttle Punk Rock they are the latest in a long line of Italian Celtic-Punk bands that fully embrace the trad side of the genre. It helps then that the members of the band are all experienced musicians with long histories of touring and playing varied musical styles. Put them together and you have Zeckyboys!

Zeckyboys left to right: Beppe – Fiddle / Backing Vocals * Enzo – Guitar / Backing Vocals * Max – Diatonic Accordion / Backing Vocals * Mastro – Lead Voice / Guitar / Irish Bouzouki * Bill – Drums / Backing Vocals * Ricky – Accordion / Backing Vocals * Franz – Bass / Backing Vocals * (Photo by Michele Piccinini)

The album kicks off with their debut single ‘Damned Purple Bus’ and in the last few weeks their has been a run of great videos and add this to the list. Telling the tale of being late for work behind a bus that keeps stopping and that you can’t get past the frustration is described perfectly and with great humour and the music… well the music! Starting off with a mix of Folk’n’Punk the song soon slides into thrashy HxC Punk but then towards the end the Bhoys give us a touch of Ska before then turning into a trad Irish Folk band and ‘The Swallowtail Jig’. Awesome and from what I have seen made quite an impact on the Celtic-Punk scene. The music is has a heavy touch but is far from tuneless having an appeal I think to many non-Punky types too. Next song ‘The Dance Of The Passed Away’ is a good example of that played with a hardness but with a great Folky edge and sense of humour. On ‘Horsefield’ the emphasis is switched to Irish Folk but they keep the hard Punk edge and as can be witnessed on the video below they certainly get the audiences on the move!

(POV of Zeckyboys playing at the Bundan Celtic Festival 23-07-2022)

‘Seamus’ touches on medieval style music but again with that Punk edge. ZeckyVün’s vocals are pure Punk Rock so that even during the quieter moments, of which their are many, they can’t escape their Punk side. Loud and growly like a MacGowan / Waits hybrid he hits all the right notes for this aging Punk especially up next on ‘A Bit Of Punk’ which even amongst the hardcore squeezes some trad Irish in! On ‘Hold A Stone’ ZeckyMax and his diatonic accordion holds sway as his old fashioned intro leads into a song where the accordion is pushed to the fore and given full reign to rule. Zeckyboys concentrate on writing their own material and the album’s only cover is next up with a Dropkick Murphys influenced ‘Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya’. First published in London in 1867 and written by English born second-generation Irish songwriter and performer Joseph B. Geoghegan it has become deservedly one of the most popular ant-war anthems in existence. A solid version that is always timeless and always received well by audiences. A Metal influence is evident in the sludgy ‘Wonder Boy’ that again turns into raucous trad Folk romp that is the albums longest song at 5 and half minutes before the album’s final track the great ‘It’s A Conspiracy’.

(Zeckyboys recorded live at Drunk in Public 04-03-2022)

The Italian Celtic-Punk scene is large and very talented and friendly. It’;s only a few weeks since we hosted the amazing Dirty Artichokes here in London and plans are afoot for Uncle Bard And The Dirty Bastards to pop over to see us too. Both absolutely amazing bands and wonderful people. Thanks to the pandemic it took Zeckyboys two years before they could actually play live so these songs have been perfected before being released into the world and they are playing like a band trying to make up for lost time. With nine songs clocking in at nearly 40 minutes the way they switch from Punk to Trad is both astounding and seamless with them somehow managing it without you even noticing at times. This is a band with a lot to offer and sitting as they do on both wings of Celtic-Punk they will have a lot of appeal to fans of the genre at home and abroad.

Buy Dirty Brands Spotify www.zeckyboys.com

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