REMEMBERING STEFAN CUSH

Friday nights. The end of the week. The end of work and the thoughts of what you can do with your delicious two days of freedom ahead. Amiright?! I’ll tell you what Friday nights are not about; reading the dreadful news on Facebook that Stefan Henry Cush, a man at the very beating heart of your favourite band The Men They Couldn’t Hang, has suddenly died from a heart attack. How can this be? This was not supposed to happen, this cannot happen, surely, in a world with any justice in it. But happen it did. Cush passed away on 4th February 2021 and the news was announced to the world on the band’s Facebook page on the following day. And everyone who has ever loved this band mourns.

Surely everyone reading these pages already knows and loves The Men They Couldn’t Hang? From 1985 and their explosive seminal album Night of a Thousand Candles, right up their 9th studio album Cock-A-Hoop released a couple of years ago, Cush has been an integral part of the rebellious outspoken folkpunk powerhouse of TMTCH. The band themselves called him

“the life of the party and the soul of the band”.

But Cush was far, far more than just the sum of all the albums and gigs listed drily on a page and to understand this you need to know, as many of you already will, that TMTCH is not just a disparate bunch of accomplished artists, resting on the laurels of yesteryear or churning out formulaic music for the masses. From the mid-80s onwards they carried the flaming torch of rebellious, anti-establishment folkpunk passed to them by the dying embers of the punk and new wave luminaries. Not for The Men They Couldn’t Hang the supernova explosion of fame and popularity only to perish on the bonfire of a bored and fickle public. Fame and fortune did not come knocking for The Men They Couldn’t Hang, though they courted hard that fickle mistress and for a while it seemed they might be graced with a seat at that table.

Their first three albums, Night of a Thousand Candles (1985), How Green is The Valley (1986), and pre-eminent in the minds of many an aficionado, Waiting for Boneparte (1988), are certainly counted as some of the finest of the genre. Rightly so. Many lauded studio and live albums followed, many collections of demos and rarities. They were as hastily and perhaps haphazardly arranged as the many spinoff bands and splinter albums that arose as many of the band members joined up outwith the confines of TMTCH in solo and duo ventures, and endless gigs, with every combination of band member possible. The Men was always the central defining vehicle, but everything else was tried, dropped, tweaked and tried again. Because underneath everything, these boys are troubadours, entertaining the gathered citizenry with a spring in their step and ever a song to sing.

Central to it all has always been Stefan Cush, from start to finish, top to bottom. From his busking days around West London, to hooking up with the remnants of a band who had left Southampton behind to seek fame and fortune in the big city, and onwards to squatting around Hammersmith, fortuitously hooking up with song-writing genius Paul Simmonds and finally hearing the distant call of fame and popularity. He was famously a roadie for The Pogues and others, and the band’s early history is littered with fascinating stories and tales of derring-do in the seedy underbelly of London Town.

Somehow the band never quite made it and slipped quietly from mainstream public view. They carried on regardless, one way or another, and finally I can come to my point: the music, stirring, emotional, rebellious and articulate though it is, is not what sets The Men They Couldn’t Hang apart from others. It is their openness and accessibility to their fanbase, their lack of pretension, their love of partying and their goddamned normalcy that makes them different. They show it in everything they do. Different, ironically, because they are the same. The same and you and me. That is why we love them.

Cush was the most open and accessible of them all (though Swill often gives him a good run for his money on that account). He would very often be found at the bar with the fans. At the start of the night, at the end of the night and at literally any other time possible. He was a man of the streets, the bars, the bright lights and the shaded doorways of the city. Utterly grounded and without pretension he would talk and drink with anyone. He treated everyone he met as if they were his lifelong friend. Dean Davis recounts

“At the Bristol Bierkeller in 1987, the second time I saw them, I got to the front and was crushed up against the crash barrier. Cush gave me one of his grins and looked away again. But I was in a bit of trouble and when he looked back, he came down to check I was okay. And then gave me his beer! Years later when I repaid that drink, I told him it was one I owed him for that moment. He pretended he remembered; but I don’t think he did. It meant a lot.”

Stefan Cush had time for anyone and everyone. Sally Booth, one of the organisers of the Bearded Theory Festival, said

“In May 2010 I was five months pregnant and looking after backstage at the Bearded Theory main stage at Kedleston Hall. Cush asked if there was somewhere selling cigs. I told him there was and offered to get him some so he gave me £10. Remember this was almost 11 years ago so there was change. When I got back and gave him his fags and change he told me to keep the change to buy baby socks because “you can never have too many baby socks”. I did buy socks with it and thought of him every time she wore them.”

Cush with bandmate Phil ‘Swill’ Odgers

For my part, I will say that every time I met Cush it was a memorable occasion. Though I had always loved and bought their music from the first moment I heard it in 1991, I had never seen them live and I didn’t know anyone else who would go to a gig with me. In 2014 the band launched a 30th Anniversary crowd-funder to finance their forthcoming album The Defiant. I signed up to record some backing vocals along with a few others and we were all invited to a backstreet studio in Shepherds Bush to watch them rehearse then record our tracks. When I turned up, Cush was the first member of the band to say hello to me. But because I hadn’t met them, I wasn’t sure who he was and replied, as I remember, rather coldly. I was so embarrassed when I realised; it has stayed with me ever since in that way embarrassing moments haunt you forever. We pledgers watched a phenomenal private gig (aka. the “rehearsal”), recorded our backing vocals for Raising Hell and then of course, retired to the pub where all the fans and the band got royally smashed to oblivion. Then the next day we did it all again for the actual 30th Anniversary gig. If you are going to meet a band for the first time, that is the way to do it.

I met Cush many times after that, sometimes in the studio for Cock-A-Hoop recording sessions, with yet more fans, all of us pledging to be there, and sometimes at gigs. The Christmas Borderline sessions alone are legendary. Though sadly the demise of that great venue put paid to that a few years ago. The evening after the Metway recording session, in a hotel Brighton, is still talked about amongst those who were there, it was a hot dirty mess! And Cush was at the centre of it all, holding court, doing what he did best, drinking hard, rabble-rousing and taking the piss out of anyone and everyone who entered his eyeline.

Because of the hated lockdown we all find ourselves in at the moment, in a sad story arc, not only was Cush the first member of The Men They Couldn’t Hang that I spoke to, he was also the last! I went to the wedding anniversary party of his friends and management, Nigel and Marianne, and there he was. “Hello Marv”, he said, “How are you doing? Have you got any fags?”. I took out my packet and offered him one. “Thanks mate”, he said, “Can I take two?”. I, looked him in the eye but of course, gave him another one. He took them both, thanked me and said goodbye, then immediately left the party with a couple of acquaintances. That was Cush, blagger-supreme, force of nature, lovable rogue and singer/songwriter in The Men They Couldn’t Hang. A more magnificent man you could never wish to meet. The world is a duller and colder place without Cush in it. RIP mate.

Words and Photos Marvey Mills, Marvellous Gig Photography.

ALBUM REVIEW: BLACK WATER COUNTY- ‘Comedies And Tragedies’ (2020)

Since their arrival on the Celtic-Punk scene back in 2013 Black Water County have become one of its shining lights swiftly going from support slots to headline act right across the country. Marv runs the rule over their second album which shows them maturing into an act that is preparing for BIG things.

Back in September 2019 I was lucky enough to spend a day in the studio with Black Water as they were putting the finishing touches to their new album Comedies and Tragedies at The Ranch Production House in Hampshire. It was a lot of fun to spend time with the band and get the skinny on the new album. It was clear from the run-throughs that they were gestating a banging new set of tracks and it was a real pleasure to see it unfold.

As anyone familiar with their evolution will know, Black Water County has gone from strength to strength in the past couple of years. After a couple of EPs, their debut album Taking chances met with almost universal acclaim a couple of year ago. Their brand of fast and uproarious Guinness-and-Cider-soaked mayhem has proven impossible to resist in the grass roots folkpunk live scene. Particularly in the west country but also further afield and their gigs are usually loud, sweaty parties of booze-driven joy. I was at the front for their Bimble Inn debut at Beautiful Days Festival in 2018. Their follow-up Beautiful Days set in 2019 was a glorious party, packed to the 2000-capacity gunnels for a triumphant set of classic BWC before an adoring crowd, all intent on singing and dancing their arses off.

With the new album they have come of age. It’s the same Black Water County we know and love, the same level of hard-working folkpunks songs seemingly designed with the specific intention of putting a grin on your face and movement in your body. However they have upped their game. It’s smoother and yet simultaneously coarser. More complex whilst at the same time retaining their raw and rowdy energy. Vocal duties continue to be shared between Shannon and Tim with lashings of gorgeous harmonies from the rest of the band. Gone are some of the more comedic vocals and themes (brilliant and humorous though they were), to be replaced with more songs of wistful loss, conflicted angst and other contemplative themes, but all pounded together skillfully with blistering drums and musicianship. I even noticed some solo bass runs in there and some screaming electric guitar amongst the manic fiddle, banjo and lord knows what else; it’s all in there! A beautiful cacophony of distilled folkpunk bliss!

The songs are all new of course, yet instantly familiar. If you love Black Water County you will adore this album. There is no let up in the fellowship of the craic (the title of one of their early EPs) a perfect description of their unwritten manifesto. If you want a taster to see if it’s up your alley, find the track Darkest Days, it is both quintessential Black Water County and the perfect showcase of their new raw sound. How the hell did they manage to do that in a single song? It beats me, but I’m too busy wallowing in the glory to question it further.
The Rise and continued Rise of Black Water County; long may it continue.

Buy Comedies And Tragedies CD- FromTheBand  Download- Spotify  AppleMusic 

Contact Black Water County  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

Photos courtesy of Marvellous Gig Photography camera for hire!

EP REVIEW: 1916- ‘Meant To Be’ (2020)

Hailing from upstate NY, Celtic rockers 1916 are an explosive concoction of the modern Irish Punk movement with an original mix of psychobilly which gives 1916 a sound that stands apart from other bands of the genre.

Kicking off on New Years Day with a new EP big fan of 1916 Marv was among the first to buy it and has been listening to it ever since so here’s our first review of 2020!

A couple of years ago on these very pages I first came across the band 1916 from Rochester, New York, when praise was rightly heaped on their last album ‘Far Beyond The Pale’. I immediately ordered their entire back-catalogue on CD, which while talking a little while to cross the pond, has since never been far from my playlists. If you are not familiar with their work (unlikely I know!) then I advise you put that right as quickly as you can. Their cover of ‘I’ll Fly Away’ is one of my all-time favourite tracks along with ‘Ordinary Man’ and ‘Nothing Left to Lose’ from the 2016 album ‘Last Call for Heroes’

Roll forward to late 2019, just before Christmas, and welcome news was received via the auspices of Facebook that 1916 would soon be releasing a new single. True to their word it went live on all digital platforms on 1st January. Now that’s how you start off a new year!

So here we have the new three-track single, every note classic 1916 from first to last. The title track of the single is ‘Meant To Be’ – Full of everything we love from the raw overdriven guitar, the solid drumming driving the track along maniacally, and Billy Herring’s gravelly wistful voice snarling through the words and harmonies.

With hardly time to catch your breath the tempo knob is cranked up a notch and ‘Khaleesi’ follows. Yes it is THAT Khaleesi. This is the condensed story of the mother of dragons from Game of Thrones with a monumentally singalong chorus:

“And it is no, no, NO! Khaleesi

Run those dragons nice and easy!

Far away, when you go far away…

And you will go, go, GO! Khaleesi

Run those dragons nice and easy,

Through the towns of Westeros today.”

Bloody hell. This is a CRACKER of a song. The energy, like most everything 1916 produces, just explodes out of the speakers. It must be an absolute belter live.

The final track is a curious cover and mashup of the old standard ‘Show Me The Way To Go Home’, a song I am only really familiar with due to my dear old mother singing it in a faux drunk slur to indicate she may be very slightly tipsy. Bless her. However, that being said, I prefer the 1916 version all day- thumping upright bass and frenetic drums with soaring guitar work and mob vocals for backing when needed.

(Check out The 1916 Shop for all their merchandise plus the chance to buy their complete discography for $35)

So there you have it, the best way to start a new year. Shake off the Christmas flab and the dire state of the political situation here in the UK. Press play on ‘Meant To Be’, crank the volume up to max lose yourself in a nine minute slab of rollicking psychobilly-tinged folk punk. Completely and undeniably 1916 on top form, I pray it heralds a new album in 2020 as much as I pray that the boys will somehow, sometime, make it across the pond to our shores so we can bask in their glory.

Buy Meant To Be  Amazon  CDbaby

Contact 1916  WebSite  Facebook  Instagram  Bandcamp  YouTube

ALBUM REVIEW: MICKEY RICKSHAW- ‘Home In Song’ (2019)

“Locations change, friends change, scenes change, but we always have a home in song”.

Boston’s Mickey Rickshaw have long been considered the future of Celtic-Punk by some (guilty!) so a couple of years on from Behind The Eight Ball could their third studio album live up to the weighty expectations we had put upon it? Well read on to see what our good man Marv thought of it.

For the uninitiated, according to their website, Mickey Rickshaw is a “high energy Celtic Punk band that plays fast and loud”. Hailing from Boston, home to so much great music, and with a couple of albums and EP’s under their collective belts (there are eight of them!), ‘Home In Song’ is their third and latest album, due for release soon.

With a heritage like that, and not ever coming across them before, I was excited to review this album. I mean they are from Boston, am I right?! But strangely, on first listen I didn’t take to it. I have no idea why that is. Perhaps I was tired or just feeling a bit odd, or perhaps it was because I was on the train on the way to work on a Monday morning. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I wasn’t feeling the love. The first couple of tracks just didn’t work for me; the phrase “trying too hard” crossed my mind. Looking back now, I don’t understand it. I love the punkier end of the folk punk spectrum and these guys have raw folk punk oozing out of their pores. So I let the album run on, after all you can’t write off an album after a couple of tracks and it certainly wouldn’t make for a fair review. I am very glad that I did.

(The video for ‘Home In Song’ was shot in the very American Legion that the song was written about, which is now privately owned and operates as a recording studio, and venue, WAMLEG. Directed and edited by the bands own Mike Rivkees)

“And then the sun came up on another day and we found ourselves in time, abandoning a scene that we felt that we built together.
Disenfranchised kids who found a home in song.
Music with a fist- we played it for so long.
Best friends of our lives- formed the strongest bonds,
and now our heroes, they’re falling one by one.”

The sound is predominantly loud bass, overdriven electric guitars over manic drumming (their drummer sure does love his crash cymbals!), thrashy and powerful, with shouty vocals and mob-chorus harmonies. It’s hard to avoid comparisons with the Dropkicks, but these are no DKM wannabees. Think of ‘Buried Alive’ from the Dropkicks’ ‘Blackout’ crossed with some Stiff Little Fingers and you’ll be in the ballpark.

This album just builds and builds. It’s a bit like going to a gig on rainy wet Tuesday; it takes some time to forget about the water seeping in through your shoes. By track four, ‘Keep Afloat’ they take a deep breath, slow it down a tiny amount and say to themselves (I imagine) “Right boys, let’s get this done”. Because let me tell you, you soon forget about that downpour. From there on there is no let-up, no looking back; the power and the energy scream out of the speakers and by the time we get to track six, ‘Fang’, the boys are belting it out and taking no prisoners.

This is no fiddle-de-dee music, there is no shoegazing or worthy whistle solos here. This is hardcore and filthy folk-based punk make no mistake. The absolute artistry of these tracks though, is how every now and then they drop the guitars out for a bar or two and let the melody carry the music to remind you of its glorious roots. After the magnificent onslaught, it is a welcome and jarring break just for a second or two, then they hook you back in and bludgeon you into submission. I get the feeling the entire album is designed to soften you up for the final track, ‘Floodgates’. Even after all the preceding mayhem it takes the music on this magnificent album to a new level with a banshee of a pipes riff. It’s an absolute masterpiece, an exemplar for the genre and I keep going back to it time after time. I learnt something today; more traditional Celtic folk punk, dare I say more melodic folk punk, with its mandolins, banjos, fiddles and tin whistles may be a joy, but there is a place deep in my heart for the fast, dirty, uncompromising and brutal tunes of Mickey Rickshaw and their like.

Mickey Rickshaw left to right: Jimmy Donovan – Guitar * Chris Campbell – Drums * Jake Sullivan – Fiddle * Mike Rivkees – Lead Singer * Kyle Goyette – Bazouki * Shane Welch – Bagipe/Tin Whistle * Tom Donnelly – Guitar * Derek Dooley – Bass

I have re-listened to this album many times now and after a while I think I finally got it. No more did the first couple of track sound forced, the fault had always been entirely mine. They were just the first hesitant steps on a journey to a different destination. You can pick up Mickey Rickshaw’s previous albums from their Bandcamp page on a pay-what-you-like basis for which they have my utmost respect. Today was a school day.

Buy Home In Song- Bandcamp   ArrestRecords (T-Shirt/Vinyl offer)

Contact Mickey Rickshaw  WebSite  Facebook  Bandcamp  Twitter  YouTube  Instagram   Merch

EP REVIEW: THE LAGAN- ‘Let’s Do It Again’ (2018)

Sneaked in just before the end of last year was this new EP from local beer-soaked Celtic folk-punk favourites The Lagan and with the Best Of lists due next week no way could we miss out on reviewing it so off went Marv to chat to Brendan and find out what’s what.  

Just after Christmas the shiny new and aptly named EP from The Lagan, ‘Let’s Do It Again’, popped through my letterbox with an excited thud. Released in the dying embers of 2018, it  concludes five long years since their magnificent debut album ‘Where’s Your Messiah Now?’. The song ‘Same Shite, Different Night’ from that album was responsible, almost singlehandedly, for changing my life. But that’s another (and probably very tedious) story.

I asked Brendan O’Prey, main vocalist and guitarist in the Kingston-on-Thames based band, why they had decided to go for an EP release after so long, instead of a full album.

“I just thought it was time to get something out!”, replied Brendan,  “when we started recording the EP it had been five years since we released WYMN. We had to get something out there, but didn’t have the money or material to release a new album. We’re not prolific songwriters and we didn’t have a lot of time in the studio”.

The EP, contains five stunning new recordings, three written by O’Prey, one traditional and one, ‘Home For A Rest’, a masterful cover of song by Canadian folk band Spirit of the West. I was not familiar with the original and was stunned to find it is actually a cover. The lyrics are so perfectly suited to The Lagan lads and lass I was convinced it was written by them!

All five of the tracks are absolute classic Lagan in full flight. With Brendan’s distinctive voice and the signature combination of driving whistle, fiddle, guitar and bass, these could simply not have been anyone else! With one exception they are rip-roaring beer-soaked 100 miles-an-hour glory tunes. If you loved ‘Where’s Your Messiah Now?’ (and if you didn’t then what is wrong with you?!), then you will love all of these. Their one and only flaw is that they are over too soon.

Said Brendan when I asked him about plans for another full album,

“that’s the next step. I’ve never sat down  to write an album as one piece of work, but I’d like to. Life gets in the way though, none of us do this for a living and we are always so busy gigging.”

‘A Song For Jim’, the penultimate song of this magnificent EP,  isn’t quite as manic as the others. It’s not that it’s slow, it’s just slower by comparison! Written by O’Prey, musically and thematically a recognisable child of ‘Work Away’ from Messiah (my fave track off that album), it is a heartfelt and sorrowful bittersweet requiem for Jim. I don’t know if it’s written from personal experience, the CD liner notes suggests it might be, but my word this is written and sung from the heart. It makes me wish I had known Jim, clearly a singularly special human being. I cannot wait to see this done live, the entire audience will go crazy.

The Lagan: Alex Kidd – Drums * Big George – Bass * Our Morgan – Fiddle/keeping the lads in check * Brendan – Guitar, vocals and anger issues * Andy Mac – Tin Whistles/Hype Man.

Speaking of which, when can we get our next Lagan fix?

“We’re gonna try to hit the festival circuit a bit harder this year, hopefully get out to Europe a bit more. Our first gig of 2019 is at The Fighting Cocks in Kingston on 2nd February. It’s a free show and it’s always a good time down there. so ‘mon down and have a sing-song with us.”

As Brendan says the next Lagan is Saturday 2nd Feb at their favourite haunt The Fighting Cocks in Kingston-Upon-Thames. It’s about twenty minutes from Waterloo on the train and the gig is **FREE** so no excuses especially with a stellar line up of  Blues/ Folk/ Country/ RagTime/ Jazz/ Swing from the  Swamp Stomp String Band and fellow Kingstonites acoustic folk-punkers Boogedy Smak. All the details are here on the Facebook event. See thee in the moshpit!

Buy Let’s Do It Again

Compact Disc- BanquetRecords

Contact The Lagan

WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Twitter  Bandcamp

(if you missed it (may God have pity on you) then have a listen to The Lagan debut album Where’s Your Messiah Now? here on the Bandcamp player below)

London Celtic Punks have a small (but utterly amazing) selection of CD’s available from Celtic-Punk bands around the world so check them out here.

ALBUM REVIEW: RAISE YOUR PINTS Vol.3- VARIOUS ARTISTS

Raise Your Pints Volume 3 is a compilation of Celtic-Folk-Punk from MacSlon’s Irish Pub Radio; a Celtic-Folk-Punk internet radio station out of Magdeburg, Germany. It started life as part of wider mainstream internet radio station, but when that organisation closed back in 2009 these guys decided, thankfully, to go it alone with a full station dedicated to the glory of folk punk; they have never looked back!

So what do you get for your €9 (plus P&P)? Well, a hell of a lot as it turns out; some of the finest party oriented folk punk I have ever seen assembled in one place. It is a testament to the global love and reach of Celtic-influenced folk punk that of the twenty tracks on the disc, ten countries are represented. Six of the tracks come from German bands, which is understandable given the source, but we’ve got 14 additional jaw-dropping tracks from Spain, France, Ukraine, Serbia, Switzerland, Great Britain, Italy, USA and, of course, Ireland. Don’t make the mistake of thinking this eclectic mix of nationalities might water down the authenticity of the music- this is all top quality straight up loud, sweaty, folk punk perfectly designed with only one purpose in mind- an  accompaniment to a night of dancing and drinking to the small hours. To put it another way, it is slap bang in the middle of my sweet spot and I loved every single minute of this epic collection.

I was already familiar with a handful of the beauties on this album; Ferocious Dog and Black Water County from the UK, Orthodox Celts from Serbia and Airs & Graces from Germany. Without exception the other bands on the album were completely new to me and in that respect it serves as what used to be called a “Sampler” album back in the days of yore. A collection of tunes allowing the listener to cheaply explore the best that a bunch of bands have to offer, without risking a load of cash on albums you might not like. Yes, I am aware the switched on media-savvy youth of today today just use YouTube for this, and so do I, but the point here is that this collection has been curated with love and a deft touch. Let this album take you on a journey across someone else’s music taste; it is a joyous trip!

Reviewing a compilation album is difficult. Running through each track and trying to describe it would soon become boring reading so I’m going to explore some of the tracks that were the standout songs to my ear- the tracks you have to go back to after the first complete run through because you can’t wait to hear them again.

First up is actually the first track on the album; ‘The Fury’ by Brick Top Blaggers. Opening with a slow and mournful waltz led by the fiddle, with acoustic guitar backing and a keening vocal, it lulled me into a false sense that the album would probably be featuring an appearance of ‘Danny Boy’ somewhere along the line and perhaps another version of ‘Fields of Athenry’. All classic songs of course, but not the Celtic party anthems I felt I was promised by the cover of the album, which features a caricatured drunken bawdy mess taking place inside a stereotypical Irish pub! The song soon put that to rights. After a verse of soulful fiddling the band clearly got fed up with it, cranked up the amps, plugged in the electric guitar and set the overdrive to eleven before kicking in with the drums for a fast melodic romp. The kind of track that makes you prick up your ears while having a quiet drink with your mates and paves the way to getting home at 2am when you only went out for a swift one. The biggest surprise of the track came when I checked out the nationalities of the bands to begin writing this review; these guys are from the USA, California in fact. The Beach Boys they ain’t!

I can’t review highlights without special mentions for Black Water County who lent their track ‘Way Down Low’ to the party, and Ferocious Dog who showcase ‘Crime and Punishment’ from their second album, From Without (not the Red album as documented in the CD inlay), Normally these would have been instant standout tracks for me, but I am very familiar with these bands and their music so it was more like welcoming old friends into the pub than finding new stunners. This is particularly relevant as, at time of writing this, McSlon’s Irish Pub Radio listeners have just voted Ferocious Dog’s Red album the #1 ‘Best Celtic Rock, Celtic Punk & Trad. Irish Folk Album’ of 2018. Congratulations to Ken and the lads!

Next in Marv’s Top Picks is ‘Yvonne John’ by The Logues. It reminded me a little of The Waterboys ‘A Bang on the Ear’ in places due to its production simplicity, though it is faster and drives along at a blistering pace led by some manic mando or banjo picking, occasional tin whistle and solid drumming. But its real beauty is in its soaring chorus, professing undying love to the itinerant Yvonne John three weeks after a catastrophic split. The song is so heartfelt I should think it might be a love-letter to real person. If so, Yvonne, wherever you are, you really need to listen to this! This was actually my favourite on the album, though all the tracks are so good it was a close call. I was interested when I found The Logues are the only representatives from Ireland on the album and wondered whether that subconsciously affected my instant affection for the song. But in the end I concluded this was not the case, it’s just the best bloody song in my opinion.

‘Folkpunk-Song’ by Paddy’s Funeral, from Germany, actually started out as my least favourite track on the album. It is a perfect “meta” song, deconstructing the notional formula used to construct folk punk songs, within the medium of a folk-punk song, doing all the things the lyric is instructing as they are sung. Very clever.

“At first we hear a mandolin,

It’s playing fast 16ths.

There it is the singer’s voice,

Dirty dark and mean.

The bass is playing one and five.

The bass drum quarter notes.

The key, surprise! G Major!.

This is how it goes…”

They even roll in a few bars from ‘I’ll Tell Me Ma’ half way through just to underline their credentials. I jumped to the conclusion they were smugly poking fun at my very favourite form of music in the guise of a comedy track (how dare they!). I don’t think it is actually the case now, after checking out some of their other material on YouTube, but even if it is they nail it so well it’s actually impossible not to love the song. It is so joyful I forgot they might be taking the piss! They might be doing it in an arch and knowing way, but they get it spot on, so I’ll forgive them this once.

When I asked MacSlon’s how the ‘Raise Your Pints’ series of compilations came about they told me that in 2015, after a few years of going it alone with their folk punk radio station, they produced an album called ‘Let the Kelts unite Europe’ to support the “Keltic Festival” in Germany and decided to do it again the following year. ‘So Raise Your Pints Vol. 1’ was released in 2016 and they hit upon the brilliant idea to do a new volume every year to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Volume 3 was released in 2018, though it is still available from the shop on their website. I simply cannot urge you strongly enough to check out this compilation series. What I have heard is fantastic and I cannot wait to see what we get in Vol. 4 on 17th March 2019. They are even going to be putting on a ‘Raise Your Pints’ festival in Germany in 2020 and I, for one, plan to be there.

Buy Raise Your Pints-  Here

Contact MacSlons Irish Pub Radio- WebSite  Facebook  Twitter  

ALBUM REVIEW: TIR NAN OG- ‘From The Gallows’ (2018)

From The Gallows is the fourth album from German Celtic folk punk band Tir Nan Og. Released in January 2018 according to Marvey Mills it delivers an instant slab of authentic folk punk loveliness from the opening song to the very last drop of the fourteenth track.

It is necessary, when reviewing an album, to draw comparisons with others of the genre in order to locate it in the broad and diverse spectrum, for the delight and delectation of the reader. I have found that many European Celtic folk punk bands tend to focus on a few keys themes; drinking, fighting and wenching, wrapped up in fast aggressive tunes with the distorted guitar turned up to 11 and the drummer beating out a rhythm like a runaway train. Songs you might imagine singing along with at the top of your voice, pint of booze in one hand and the other clenched in a fist punching the air in defiance of the oppressive overlords of the past. From the Gallows is not one of those albums. Think of a combination of Black Water County, The Biblecode Sundays and Mad Dog Mcrea with a little of the whimsy of Merry Hell thrown in for good measure and you will get somewhere close. Don’t get me wrong, all those good old familiar party themes are well represented here, but the musical underpinning is layered, sophisticated, varied, skilfully delivered and occasionally surprising.

The opening track, “O’ Hanlon’s Last Words”, sets out the stall for the album and I knew by twenty seconds in that I would love the whole album. Leading from the front with some capering-pace solid fiddle licks and acoustic strums it melds seamlessly into the opening lyrics. Robert Meyer, the most Irish sounding German voice I have ever heard, delivers “Bless me Father for I have sinned done quite an evil deed”. His gravelly tones supported by dancing flute riffs, you know instantly where this track is going. He is joined on vocals by Sarah Kucharek, sounding for all the world like Shannon from Black Water County, in some fabulous backing harmonies as the song build pace.

Tir Nan Og left to right: Sarah Kucharek- Vocals, Traverse Flute * Robert Mayer- Guitars, Vocals * Andreas Fingas- Backing Vocals, Bagpipes, Whistles * Volker Katzki- Drums, Bodhran * Joachim ‘Joggi’ Fink- Bass * MatthiasPracht- Fiddle, Nyckelharpa

Loosely themed, naturally enough, around the struggles of life and death with the shadow of the gallows ever-present, the album keeps up a blistering pace, throwing in the ubiquitous tin whistle, flute and some alternative percussion I could not quite identify, as it romps from song to song. By  track three, Sarah takes over on lead vocals on the excellent “Firestorm” with scaffolding ably provided by some growling fiddle, droning pipes (maybe!) and backing harmonies from the rest of the band. The thoughtful fourth track “Monster (In My Mind)” dials down the pace a little and is pushed along by interwoven flute and whistle harmonies, with a beautiful flute and fiddle breakdown towards the end.

Sarah returns on haunting lead vocals for my personal favourite track on the album, ‘Last Farewell’, telling the sorry tale of Myles Joyce, one of three men wrongfully convicted and hanged in 1882 for the murder of a local family on the border between Mayo and Galway after a shameful trial by British authorities. “Toll for me the Angelus bell, let it ring let it sing my last farewell”.

The pathos is punctured admirably by the next two tracks “Three Nights in Town” and “Shaun O’Malley”. Riotous and ribald romps documenting the misfortunes of drinking too much when seeking romance and of being mistaken for the ne’er-do-well Mr O’Malley wherever the author turns. The latter being the perfect song for spinning and reeling audience participation at any whiskey-fuelled gig at a certain point in the evening! I am looking forward to being in that crowd one day, screaming “Who the fuck is Shaun O’Malley” along with the band onstage.

The fun doesn’t end there though. Seven more tracks complete the album, including two bonus tracks, with the instrumental “Bastard Reel” being a standout joyous and fiddle-driven reel, with one of the final songs sung in the band’s native tongue. The final track “Johnny Pirate”, with alternating English and German verses, is happy pirate rock documenting the life and times of Johnny Depp!

Tir Nan Og’s music is familiar, even on the first listen. Authentic and eclectic in its influences it draws on a pantheon of instantly recognisable themes. This absorbs you, quickly and completely. But just when you think you know where it is going, the band changes tempo, drops in a change, adds a different instrument or goes in a new direction. That is one of things I really enjoyed about this album, it never seems to get complacent or relies on regurgitating that which has gone before. Skilled and layered musicianship expertly woven together with glorious vocals and harmonies create dynamism and energy exhibited by the best that Celtic folk punk has to offer. I like this band so much I am off to purchase their first three albums and I will be looking out for them eagerly on the gig and festival circuit.

Discography

Ardacris (2016) * Jack Of Folk (2015) * Bitter Brew (2012) * After Work (2019) *

Buy From The Gallows

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