NEW ALBUM: THE MULLINS – ‘Gold In Our Hands’ (2022)

Smashing debut album from The Mullins. Celtic Folk’n’Punk from southern France

One of the best things about Celtic-Punk is that bands don’t tend to rely on anyone but themselves and their fans when it comes to putting out releases. The amount of DIY albums that have come out this year has been incredible and The Mullins are another one having raised the necessary readies by crowdfunding for Gold In Our Hands and actually raising more than they asked for! This is their debut album though they did have a EP out in 2018 and with what went on in the years in between they can be forgiven for the delay. The Mullins live in and around the coastal city of Arles in the Provence region of southern France, famed for inspiring the paintings of Van Gogh wouldn’t you know! The band have all known each other for years through previous bands and even school but share the same passion for music, Celtic culture, and hops!

The Mullins

Gold In Our Hands is a mix of a handful of songs redone and re-recorded from that 2018 EP and a whole load of new original Mullins compositions. The album kicks off with ‘Streams Of Guinness’ and though I much prefer a pint of Beamish myself it’s a great opener. It’s the perfect taster for the album with crashing drums and Elsa’s loud fiddle leading in a song about getting tiddly in Galway. ‘Tough Love’ kicks off with some great banjo from Sébastien and combined with the fiddle gives the album a unmistakable Irish sound. Only two songs in and Elsa takes over on vocals before the albums title song ‘Gold In Our Hands’ which was the first single from the album to be released accompanied by a brilliant professionally filmed video. Vocals are shared through the band which I really liked as they all sound different with Sébastien’s growl a perfect foil for Elsa and Raphaël.

In the auld days of Celtic-Punk all anyone wanted to know was are they like the Murphys or Mollys and that still applies but now with the emergence and popularity of The Rumjacks another dimension is added. If anything The Mullins don’t sound like any of them yet but on comes ‘Breaking News’ and the intro is pure Rumjacks. Raphaël is the bands main vocalist with the lions share of the songs. Strong and powerful and clear as a bell in English with a French accent their is no need for a lyric sheet here! It would seem that the property developers war on the pub is worldwide and ‘The Ghost Of The Public House’ is an autobiographical loving tribute to their long gone local. The music here is fast and ‘punky’ but not so that most people would think it too fast or too punky. The ability of Celtic-Punk bands to make things completely accessible without compromising on the sound never ceases to amaze me. Just as I think I’ve heard a great Punk album my Mammy will say “Whose that? They sound good”. ‘I Won’t Miss You’ has a more poppy and with Elsa’s great vocals a song you could easily imagine hearing on the radio. ‘Slainte’ is one of the standout tracks here with heavy backing and great use of the vocals too. On an album that is as catchy as hell I hate overusing the word catchy but often their is no better word, especially on songs like ‘Lighthouse In The Dark’. ‘9 To 5’ is a cracking drinking song about getting out of work after a rubbish day of and dreaming about that first pint of Kilkenny. ‘Walk The Plank’ tells of a young man leaving to set sail and not knowing when or if he’ll ever return. Another great song and again you can hear a slight Rumjacks influence without any trace of trying to copy them.

We are nearing the end of the album and the old sea shanty ‘Santiano’ is the only cover here of a very infamous French song from 1961 sung by Hugues Aufray, a famous French folk singer. I am what is known as a fanatic when it comes to Celtic-Punk and even though I don’t mind covers at all I do prefer them to be either rare or unusual or relevant to the band and by choosing this over another ‘Drunken Sailor’ or ‘Fields Of Athenry’ I am as happy as can be! The curtain comes down on Gold In Our Hearts with the great ‘The Lights In The Sky’ and Elsa gets another chance to shine as she opens a song that embraces Irish Folk and country in a swirling beautiful number that brings to mind the pub lights going out and the door being locked on you. A fabulous way to end things.

The album’s twelve songs come in at ever so slightly over forty minutes and was recorded and mixed during February and March 2022 by Sebastien Camhi from Studio ArtMusic in the south of France and mastered by Kai Stahlenberg at Kohlekeller Studio in Germany. The production here is perfect with the different and varied musical instruments all easily recognised along with the many vocal styles. I thoroughly enjoyed Gold In Our Hands a young band with lots and lots of talent and some amazing songs.

Hope you got to drink and enjoy the Kilkenny folks!

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