Category Archives: China

NEW SINGLE: GRASS MUD HORSE ARE BACK WITH ‘Pissed It All Away’

Canada, China, Single Review November 27, 2022 Leave a comment

Chris Barry from Grass Mud Horse has been a very busy man since we last heard from him. Starring in several movies (or at least appearing in several movies!) and then re-locating back to his adopted home in Canada. From one totalitarian state to another !! Well he has a new single out this week and here’s the story behind it.

Well it has been a while since we featured Grass Mud Horse and it’s great to see them back and back on top form too. ‘Pissed it All Away?’ is the first single since ‘Johnny Todd’ a collaboration with Frankie McLaughlin in June 2021 and while that may not seem long for most Celtic-Punk bands for Grass Mud Horse it’s an eternity! The song was the first that Chris wrote for the band and is based on a auld mate’s story about his Grandad back in Glasgow. We’ll let Chris take it from here

” The story went that by all accounts his Grandad was a great Goalie, but also a great drinker.  Celtic scouts had taken an interest and arranged to meet with him and his Mum and Dad after he finished work.  All he had to do was swerve the pub after work and go straight home.  Sadly his mates twisted his rubber arm and he went down the pub, and the opportunity to try out for Celtic went down the drain. He quite literally, pissed it all away.  

I realised, as I’d hit my 30s I had more and more mates with similar stories about their own opportunities that they’d pissed away, in one way or another. In actuality there’s was more than one opportunity that I’d pissed away myself.  So from all that I wrote the first Grass Mud horse song. “

He coulda been a keeper
For Celtic it was said
He coulda done so many things
But he was always off his head
He coulda been the president
Or an artist they would say
But hed rather drink than write or think
So he pissed it all away
☘
He had an eye for business
He was always in the know
When making new investments
He was the man to go
Well I heard he made a million
And I heard they made him pay
When he shot the lot on booze and pot
And pissed it all away
☘
Pissed it all away
He coulda done so many things
If from drinking he could stay
And its another night another fight
As they carry him away
Well they shake their heads put him to bed
Who pissed it all away
☘
He coulda been the champion
He coulda ruled the ring
He coulda won the belt
Yeah he woulda been a king
But he vowed to throw in the towel
If it ever got in the way
For his love of booze hed gladly lose
And piss it all away
☘
Pissed it all away
He coulda done so many things
If from drinking he could stay
And its another night another fight
As they carry him away
Well they shake their heads put him to bed
Who pissed it all away
☘
On karaoke night
Hed always steal the light
He could barely stand
But his voice was grand
In between him talking shite
An I assure you its no fluke
He was in an indie group
But he drank the advance on a tour of France
And pissed it all away
☘
He coulda been the champion
He coulda ruled the ring
He coulda won the belt
Yeah he woulda been a king
But he vowed to throw in the towel
If it ever got in the way
For his love of booze hed gladly lose
And piss it all away
☘
Pissed it all away
He coulda done so many things
If from drinking he could stay
And its another night another fight
As they carry him away
Well they shake their heads put him to bed
Who pissed it all away
*
What happened to the last two albums?

“China and Covid. The situation there became too much and one by one the original line up of Grass Mud Horse got out. For the first two years the borders where closed and we effectively couldn’t leave, then it opened a little but flights where incredibly expensive. So we where waiting to see if China eased up, or flights became more reasonable.

We’ve all left except Josh who is seeing out a contract and then I think he will leave too, so that should tell you which happened first. I still have family there and will maybe go back one day, so I won’t say too much more.

It became very stressful, months without work, sometimes on rations and I have a 4 year old so the stress and anxiety made finishing the albums the least of priorities.

Well me and my daughter are in Canada now, where my parents emigrated to years ago. My plan is to put together a new Grass Mud Horse line-up to play live and slowly get back to recording. This (Pissed it All Away) single was about ready to go, so I decided to get it out as sort of celebration that I’m free and able to get back to what I love doing. The other two albums will come in time”

So what else is in the future for you and Grass Mud Horse?

“Well I write and record all our original stuff myself, so Grass Mud Horse is just a matter of me finding people I gel with to perform the material together live. I’ve found a bass player and will keep looking for others.

At some point I will return to the Pirate songs and Sea Shanties album and I think Pieces of My Heart will eventually come out as a collection of the singles to date as well as a couple of unheard tracks.

Right now though, I’m looking forward to putting together a band, getting out there again live…that hasn’t been an option for a few years, so that will be enjoyable. And of course Pissed it All Away comes out on the 25th which is the first single since back in like spring 2021, when we did Johnny Todd with Frankie. So for me it’s an important one.”

SPOTIFY

Contact Mud Grass Hut  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube

ALBUM REVIEW: RAISE YOUR PINTS. CELTIC- PUNK SAMPLER. VOLUME 6 – VARIOUS ARTISTS (2021)

Album Review, Australia, Bagpipes, Belguim, Best Of's, Brittany, China, Compilation, Folk-Punk, France, Germany, Ireland, Irish-American, Italy, New York, Traditional, USA June 27, 2021 Leave a comment

From the scene. For the scene.

After months of planning, organising and fund-raising the compilation album Raise Your Pints #6 has finally been delivered. Twenty bands from eleven countries celebrating (might be the wrong word- editor) the virus lockdowns in Celtic-Folk-Punk style. 

Anyone remember the original Celtic-Punk samplers from Shite’n’Onions? I think they stretched to three volumes and came at a time when I had never been on the internet. Yes I was one of the select few who never even had a MySpace account! So to come across these samplers with upwards of twenty  bands on and pretty much all new to me (even the English ones) was eye-opening… or should that be ear-opening? Them days are long ago and we can thank Shite’n’Onions for being early pioneers of the Celtic-Punk sampler though they have long passed the baton onto MacSlon’s Irish Radio. Now in their 11th year the radio station brings out the best in Celtic-Rock, Celtic-Punk and trad Irish Folk both modern and ancient(!). They have also for the last few years been a major player on the merchandise front organizing merch for a whole host of bands from across mainland Europe and even the United States.

This is the 6th in the Raise Your Pints series and all the songs have been written and recorded over the last 16 months while the Corona virus has done it’s best to wreck the music industry. We are yet to see what long term damage the lockdown have caused but already here in London, and across England, many music venues have closed their doors permanently and several bands have handed in their guitar straps. The thirst for live music though seems at a all time high but bands are still finding it difficult to book gigs and tours with so much uncertainty around about whether or not the lockdown will return.

So the arrival of Raise Your Pints #6 is to applauded for many reasons but chiefly among them is that the bands will directly benefit from the sales of the CD and with not much else going on it’s a chance for them to remind their fans and followers that they are still here and still fighting.

Reviewing a compilation album is hard enough but one made up of different bands is even harder so I will forego the usual review and just tell you a small bit about each artist and song and link to them so they can tell you more. Of course the best way to find out more is to buy the album!!!

RAISE YOUR PINTS VOLUME 6

THE MULLINS (France) – ‘Part Of Me’

The album kicks off with The Mullins. Hailing from the south of France their song began life before the lockdown but the band took the opportunity to perfect it and even managed to get together inbetween lockdowns to record the cracking video!

THE CEILI FAMILY (Germany) – ‘Corona Chesay’

The album is perhaps a bit top heavy with German bands but that is totally understandable. They do have the #1 scene in Europe you know. The Ceili Family are one of the better known established bands. The band first stirred back in 1996 and even had a great recommendation from the late Philip Chevron: “Enjoyed listening to the CD, by the way. Always good to see people doing something of their own with the basic idea we invented!”

THE FEELGOOD McLOUDS (Germany) – ‘Dirty Bastards’

More Germans here with The Feelgood McLouds formed in January 2015 southwestern Germany. More than any country in Europe the Germans have embraced Celtic-Punk with the number of bands, gigs and fans far outstripping anywhere else this side of the Atlantic. This track is taken from this years critically popular ‘Saints & Sinners’ EP.

GRASS MUD HORSE (China) ‘ Absent Friends’

Grass Mud Horse only seem to have around a year or two but already have more releases than many more well established bands. Formed when Scouse-Irish musician Chris Barry mover to China the band has had some set backs with members coming and going because of the virus (they are based in Wuhan) but luckily things have settled down and they recently recorded a single with yer man Frankie McLoughlin.

UNCLE BARD AND THE DIRTY BASTARDS (Italy) – ‘Back On Your Feet’

From playing with ALL the Celtic-Punk superstars to headlining festivals across Europe and even getting to the United States several times Uncle Bard And The Dirty Bastards are without a doubt one of the select few you could describe as ‘Premier League’ Celtic-Punk bands. ‘Back On Your Feet’ is one of the standout tracks from last years album Men Behind The Glass that the Bhoys have recorded an acoustic version for here. One of many great Celtic-Punk highlights during the lockdown was the Bastards hour long acoustic live stream. Brilliant!

JACK IN THE GREEN (Germany) – ‘Old Maui’

Yeah we may have all heard it a 100 times by now but popular covers are popular for a reason. That we never tire of hearing them! Hamburg’s Jack In The Green play a great acoustic version rather than the ‘choir/acapello’ type I’m more use to hearing. Vocals remind me a lot of from The Whisky Priests who in their day were massive so wonder if they were an influence here. 

THE MOORINGS (France) – ‘Champion At Keeping It Rolling’

Cracking version of the Ewan MacColl penned classic about lorry driving from French band The Moorings. Formed in 2011 the band have released several albums and EP’s a Folky version of this song appears on their debut EP Pints & Glory but they have re-recorded it in proper Celtic-PUNK style here. They have just completed a successful crowd-funding campaign for a new album so can’t wait for that.

JOHNNY HASH (Ireland) – ‘Ride On’

Johnny Hash is a bunch of people from various Belfast bands who got together during the lockdown and released a few videos of Irish Folk classics. Christy Moore’s ‘Ride On’ was their first attempt at a video. Still knocking them out months later let’s hope they develop into something more permanent.

THE RUMPLED (Italy) – ‘If I Should Fall from Grace With God’

The Pogues track gets an airing here from the Italian band The Rumpled. Hard to compete with the originals but gutsy to try and they give it a great go. A relatively new band having got together in 2013 in Trento, Italy. Known for fast paced Celtic-Punk, combining Irish Folk, Rock, Ska and Punk. They have a new album out at any moment so watch this space for news on that.

MEDUSAS WAKE (Australia) – War Of Independence

The debut album from Sydney based Celtic-Folk-Rockers Medusa’s Wake hit the top spots in all of 2018’s Celtic-Punk medias yearly ‘best of’s’ and since then they have gone from strength to strength. Writted by Tipperary born Eddie Lawlor, he sings from the heart of the war back home between 1919 and 1921 against the British. Much of that war took part in the fields and villages of the ‘Premier County’ and those of us with Tipp backgrounds grew up hearing of the tales of heroic activities of those ordinary men who took on the worlds strongest army.

HELLRAISERS AND BEERDRINKERS (Germany) – ‘Stay At Home’

Hellraisers And Beerdrinkers may just have the best name in Celtic-Punk but they are a pretty shit-hot band as well. They take their name from a song by rockers Motorhead so should give you an idea about them! Another band that hails from Germany from the small town of Schwäbisch Gemünd. ‘Stay At Home’ is a re-recorded re-jigged new version of a song from their debut album Folk’s Gaudi in 2016.

AN SPIORAD (Germany) – ‘Carry Me Home’

German band that began life as a two-piece band “The Plästik Päddies” in 1997 before changing name to the far more complicated An Spiorad (Scots Gaelic for The Spirit). ‘Carry me Home’ is taken from their recent album Album Dord Na Mara.

SONS OF O’FLAHERTY (Brittany) – ‘The Pack’

More Celtic Celtic-Punk now from Vannes in Brittany Sons Of O’Flaherty formed as a duo in 2010 they soon fleshed out to a whole band due in no small part to the popularity of Irish music in this Celtic nation. ‘The Pack’ is a new song and with it being four years since the release of their last album The Road Not Taken hopefully this signifies some new sounds on the way.

NEVERMIND NESSIE (Belgium) – ‘Lock Him Up’

Formed in Belgium in 2009 Nevermind Nessie‘s track comes from this years EP Another Six Pack Of Drinking Songs that came out in March. A fast, raucous song about Donald Trump.

KILKENNY BASTARDS (Germany) – ‘Be A Bastard’

More bastards!! This time from Iserlohn in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Like many German bands their emphasis is on playing live such is the demand for their music so their recording output sometimes doesn’t match up with the age of the band. Kilkenny Bastards are one such band and we look forward to them rectifying this soon!

ALL THOSE EMPTY PUBS (Switzerland) – ’40 Days’

Based up in the Swiss alps ’40 Days’ was the debut release from All Those Empty Pubs (what a great name!) earlier this year. We loved it so much we ran a feature and a small interview with Diego the genius behind this one-man-band. Diego utilises all his talents here with mandolin, flute, acoustic guitar and even Hammond organ alongside your more usual Rock band instruments. It just don’t get more DIY than this.

RAPPAREES (Germany) – ‘Las Vegas (In The Hills Of Donegal)’

Another band from Hamburg Rapparees kicked off thirty years ago in the dive bars before changing their name. A straight up acoustic cover of the Goats Don’t Shave song. A ‘raparee’ was the name given to Irish soldiers who survived the Williamite war with the British in the 1690’s and used guerilla tactics or became highwaymen after the war ended.

LA STOATS (Germany) – ‘Raise Your Pints’

German band La Stoats come from Essenbach in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany and incorporate the traditional tunes and melodies of their Bavarian home into their brand of Celtic-Punk. ‘Raise Your Pints’ is one of the standout songs here with chugging guitar and a real cool early 80’s Punk Rock sound with some superb bagpipes. Definitely a band worth checking out.

MUIRSHEEN DURKIN (Germany) – ‘Riot’

The last of nine German bands on Raise Your Pints features one of the best Muirsheen Durkin And Friends. ‘Riot’ is a bloomin’ brilliant Celtic-Punk cover of a UK Subs song from 1997. The original is superb but here it is mastered with the energy intact and growling vocals and a core of Celtic instruments chugging along.

SEAN TOBIN (USA) – ‘St. Patrick’s Day Forever’

The last of the 20th songs belongs to New Jersey Irish singer/ songwriter Sean Tobin. Theirs 2 versions of ‘St’ Patrick’s Day Forever’ and I guess you could call this the ‘radio edit’. Blue-collar, working-class Irish American Folk music and one of the standout tracks on the album to bring down the curtain.

So that’s yer lot. There’s bound to be a load of bands here that you have never heard of. Some are new even to us and the styles of music is varied from Folk and trad right across to Punk but the songs are all totally accessible at all times. This (like the previous five volumes) is essential listening to all fans of Celtic-Punk and we cannot put it any clearer than that! Raise Your Pints #6 is out on July 9th and is available for pre-release order from the link below.

https://macslons-shop.com/v-a-raise-your-pints-vol-6-cd

INTERVIEW WITH WU WEI FROM CHINESE CELTIC-PUNK BAND SMZB

Album Review, Bagpipes, China, Interview February 22, 2021 Comments: 2

We here at London Celtic Punks have a passion for music but what about those who use music to try and achieve a higher goal than just pure enjoyment. The Chinese Celtic-Punk band SMZB are such a band and here Michael X. Rose interviews WuWei their lead singer/ songwriter and reviews their latest album, Once Upon A Time in The East.

Interview with Wu Wei, vocalist and songwriter for SMZB. January 2021.

I was discussing Once Upon a Time in the East, with him, the latest LP from SMZB released in August, 2020. It’s a great album and a fantastic follow up to 2016’s The Chinese are Coming.
If you haven’t heard SMZB before, their sound is a blend of classic Punk- energy and chords- with Celtic rhythms and instruments. They use bagpipes, tin whistle, banjo that give it the Celtic feel. They also add brass trumpets on some which give those songs a kind of totalitarian terror, like the Communists are about to kick down your door.
I asked WuWei about the band name, what does it mean? There is a microphone called an SM7B, was it related to that? I was curious. WuWei replied,

It is the abbreviation of the band’s earliest Chinese name Pinyin SHENG MING ZHI BING, Chinese name means “BREAD OF LIFE” or “BISCUIT OF LIFE.” In 2002, the Chinese name was no longer used, only the acronym was retained, and the band’s logo (attached) was a four-letter acronym, we love it!

Biscuit of Life, there you have it. I love it too!

If you go to purchase the album on Bandcamp, don’t be afraid of the 78$ price tag, that’s in Hong Kong Dollars, and is only about 10$ US/Euro or so.

Many of the songs on Once Upon a Time… are listed on in Chinese, so here are the translated titles, the * means its in Chinese only on the Bandcamp;

1. Red Riot
2. All Red the River *
3. Lumo Road
4. Slap Like Teen Spirit
5. Old Guns *
6. Great Hall of Rock ’N Roll *
7. Brewing Freedom *
8. Get the World Drunk *
9. Emma the River Dolphin
10. Mao’s Great Famine
11. Happiness Camp ( Slavery Manifesto) *
12. A New World Of Misery *
13. Three Women *

First, Thank You for doing this interview. I’m so excited about this. I am a big fan of SMZB ever since I heard The Chinese are Coming.
Red Riot, first song on the album. The siren intro is amazing, it’s like the Bell tolling Doom. You mention several times kids and parents ratting out on each other, and not being able to trust anybody. What is it like to live in a Police State?

My feeling is that there is no safety or dignity in China.

SMZB – Red Riot (Fight Or Die)’ Official Video

There are six members of SMZB, a large group. Where are you all from, is anybody Irish or of partly Irish descent? How did you get into doing the Irish Sound? Personally, I hear a Chinese influence you bring to the Irish Punk, and it fits well and adds a new dimension.

Our band members are from three different cities in China, Wuhan, Beijing and Changsha. None of us have Irish links but enjoy the music from the Pogues and the Dubliners. That began my interest in Irish Punk.

How many LP’s does the band have out? When did you switch from “plain” Punk to Celtic Punk and why? What converted you?

The band has 10 albums. I wanted to do Celtic punk from the beginning but it was difficult for me to find the instruments or the musicians. But in 2005 I met the bands bagpipe player and we toured Europe where I was able to buy some instruments such as the tin whistle. From then on we made the Celtic Punk music.

Who writes the songs, is it collaborative, or separately?

I write the lyric and melody and then work together with the band to complete the songs and get their input.

I hope you don’t mind me asking, your songs are so clearly and strongly against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) which is fantastic, how do you not get arrested? Are you worried about that?

Well so far I haven’t been arrested but my social media and phone is under surveillance. Probably my band is not big enough to cause the CCP much trouble, if I was too famous then perhaps I would be arrested by now. But it doesn’t worry me.

What do you think of the One Child Policy and the deaths that it caused? Is the Common Chinese person fed up with the CCP? Will there be Freedom for the good people of China anytime soon?

The one child policy was scraped a few years ago now, it was a stupid policy and of course had tragic consequences. Most Chinese people are content with the CCP, they don’t question them. I think one day there will be freedom in China but who can say when, although my thoughts and hopes are that it will be soon.

Where is the band from? I think it says Wuhan on Bandcamp, do you still live there? Sometimes it says you are located in Hong Kong. Do you think you need to defect? Where are you located currently?

The band began in Wuhan, at the moment there are two band members still living in Wuhan. I moved to Portugal last year and other band members live in Beijing and Changsha.

How has the Corona Virus impacted you in ways we may not expect? Is Wuhan devastated? Are you aware that it was made in a CCP lab as a Bio Weapon? Is the average Chinese citizen aware that the CCP created this virus?

Thankfully the virus has not impacted me or my family and friends very much. Other than we of course stay home more. Wuhan has recovered very well since last year and the virus rate is low, most daily life is back to normal. I believe the virus was created in the bio lab but most Chinese people do not think this.

Slap Like Teen Spirit, fourth song on the album is such a great song. My reflection on the lyrics is; Do you feel like China is one giant prison camp? Do you know about the Uighur prison camps and their extermination by the CCP? What advice do you have for Westerners now that CCP style censorship has come to the West?

Yes my feeing is that China is a prison camp, I know about the Uighur camps but most Chinese people are not aware of it.

Lyrics:
Sit around a table with your classmates,
Remember how people fight on the streets,
Watch violent videos on your cellphone,
No one is your friend, everybody is your enemy.

You can learn nothing, waste time in your school,
Make yourself brutal and cold-hearted,
Practice abuse, Insult and bully,
Laws and rules mean nothing to you.

Stand in a circle, rip off your uniform,
Slap each other, then kick kick harder.
Spit like a gangster, speak like a rogue,
Stare like a killer, hurt like an avenger.

Track 6, Great Hall of Rock ‘N Roll, the chorus musically references an Irish song The Waves Down in the Ocean. I love it. Can you talk about its inspiration?

I hadn’t heard the waves down in the ocean, but the song is inspired by traditional Irish music. This songs title translates to ‘Great hall of rock and roll’.

Emma the River Dolphin (Track 8). You sing a lot about pollution, Communist China is well known as one of the most environmentally polluted countries on Earth. What are your goals here? Can China be saved?

China is developing fast and it is destroying the nature. But nature is strong and it can be saved if things change. I hope they do.

SMZB – ‘Mao’s Great Famine Official Video

The song Mao’s Great Famine. I’m sure many Chinese know how Mao killed over 100 million Chinese and the horrors of the Cultural Revolution. Most Westerners don’t know this history and may even hang paintings of Mao on their wall by Andy Warhol or carry a Little Red Book. Tell me about the Lyrics for Mao’s Great Famine for the Westerners reading this interview.

Most people in China know about the famine but they don’t blame Mao, they have been taught it was a natural disaster.

Song 11, Happiness Camp. This song is so great. There is a slide guitar lead break in it, maybe mixed with a woman’s vocal on the breaks? It’s a very ghostly haunting sound. Can you tell me about the production of this song a little bit?

Track 12,this songs title is ‘Happiness camp’ with the camp referring to the prison camps. The women’s vocal is with the guitar solo, it’s a tribute to Ennio Morricone.

Lyrics:
HAPPINESS CAMP(SLAVERY MANIFESTO)
Cleanse your brain, or change its makeup, and use your anger as needed at all times.
No more extra complaints, no more words, let them play and emasculate you, cooperate with their hand-to-hand combat.
You suck what they exhale and eat what they shit, nothing is important, as long as you can flirt.
Even the cold will be proud, the hunger will be proud, and it is here that you will have equality and still feel the embrace of God.

Sign this declaration of slavery, there is no bottom line to happiness here.
Serve your master with all your heart and soul, and you will be happy in this concentration camp.

Be reluctant to open those doors and windows and let the sun shine in front of you, be infinitely loyal to your leaders and help them move bricks and build walls.
You say you are all sober, you are all calm, and say forget those sufferings and enjoy the happiness and peace that you have now.

Sign this declaration of slavery, there is no bottom line for happiness here.
Serve your masters with all your heart and soul, there is only happiness in this concentration camp.

Track 12, A New World of Misery. I really like the stripped down songs you do. They remind me of Spaghetti Westerns. This song is so great with just acoustic guitar, tin whistle, and fiddle, it refreshes between full punk blasts. Tell me about this one.

Track 13.This song is called ‘A new world of misery’. It was inspired by a visit I made to villages in the Sichuan province in China 25 years ago which had a huge amount of poverty. What really shocked me was that when I returned to the same area, the situation was the same.

Are there any other great Chinese Irish Punk Bands we should know about?

There are some good Chinese punk bands but no Irish punk bands in China. (Editor – China is a BIG BIG country so a big shout to Grass Mud Horse here!)

SMZB – ‘Happy Concentration Camp (Declaration of Slavery)’ Official Video

What does the band like to drink Guinness? Whiskey? What brand? Or is there a Chinese brand of Stout we should all look out for?

I like Guinness and whiskey, Jameson is my favorite for the price. Recently the craft brewery business is expanding in China, there are now many good craft stout made in China. But Guinness is unique.

1/17/21  Michael X. Rose

Contact SMZB  Facebook

Thanks to Wu Wei and the guys and to Michael for the interview. Michael also sings and plays guitar in New York state Celtic-Punk band The Templars Of Doom whose latest album Hovels Of The Holy is still available (and now out on vinyl too).

Ten years old but what a great show. SMZB play their 15th Anniversary Show @ VOX Livehouse, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Christmas Day 2011.

NEW CHRISTMASSY CELTIC-PUNK SONGS FROM IRELAND, CHINA, GERMANY, CANADA, LONDON AND MEXICO

Canada, China, Christmas, England, Germany, London, Mexico, Single Review, Traditional December 26, 2020 Leave a comment

Well that’s it. Christmas is over and done with and hopefully you all had a festively good time despite everything.  BUT if you are still in need of some good cheer though then wait no more as we here’s a selection of six brand new 2020 Christmas-ish Celtic-Punk songs for you to delight over.

Craic open what’s left of the Jamesons and enjoy!

ANTI-DEPRESANTS – ‘If It’s Gonna Be Cold’

Anti Depresants are four piece Rock‘n’ Roll band coming from the hills of Armagh in the north of Ireland with a lot of Punk attitude an’ a sprinklin’ of Ska to get your ass movin’, your heart beatin’ and your mind racin’ with their diverse sound embracing heavy rock, reggae, male and female vocals and blistering guitar work.

Contact Anti Depresants  Facebook  YouTube  Bandcamp

GRASS MUD HORSE – ‘Christmas Time In China’

Possibly the busiest band in Celtic-Punk this year (and definitely the busiest on these pages!!) Grass Mud Horse have been making, and releasing, music throughout the ‘clampdown’ to us lucky folk. Led by award-winning musician Chris Barry, a Scouser living in Qinhuangdao, China. They blend together the traditional Folk sound of Chris ancestors in Ireland with an distinctly raw and untamed Punk-Rock energy. 2020 while being quite the lame year has seen Grass Mud Horse become quite the name on the Celtic-Punk scene with their last single released dually across North America by Paddyrock and Europe by us! The song is available for download over on Bandcamp for next to nothing.

Contact Grass Mud Horse  WebSite  Facebook   YouTube

THE FEELGOOD McLOUDS – ‘Driving Home For Christmas’

St. Nicholas is on his way and The Feelgood McLouds have come up with a little present for you. Are you bored of long dark winter nights without pubs and concerts? Then here’s the solution the brand new Christmas song from these fantastic German Celtic-Punkers. Imagine if the Dubliners were only in their mid-twenties, very, very thirsty and had discovered punk for themselves. Then punk rock anthems would merge with bagpipes, banjo, tin whistle and accordion, there would be a good smell of beer and whiskey and sweat would drip from the ceiling. And that’s exactly what The Feelgood McLouds is all about. With their energetic punk rock show, the 6 Saarlanders make every concert room shake and everyone to empty their beer glass. In a nutshell: Sounding like NOFX and the Dropkick Murphys are meeting in an Irish pub for an endless party!

Contact The Feelgood McLeods  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

THE STANFIELDS – ‘(I’ll Stay Home) With Bells On

The Stanfields trod a well trodden path to 2020 from the Seahorse Tavern in their hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia to where they are now. Their trajectory from full on their Celtic-Punk to “the bastard child of AC/DC and Stan Rogers” where their music blends Working Class Hard-Rock with the many strands of Folk that make up traditional Canadian music with much of it heavily influenced by Scotland and Ireland. Here they massacre pay tribute to the great Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers song. Stanfields front man John is joined by his Mrs Shannon on this cheeky number that follows on from our review just a couple of weeks ago of their fantastic new album Welcome To The Ball.

Contact The Stanfields  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

CLAN OF CELTS- ‘A Christmas Quarantine’

Fusing together all their musical experiences & influences ranging from, Rock, Metal, Country, Punk, Classical and of course traditional Irish. Clan Of Celts have created a unique style and an unmistakable sound that is brought to you with Celtic pride, passion, commitment and respect for our traditional roots. The new team on the London Celtic-Punk scene bring you a classic cheesy Christmas song out now and available to download through Spotify and all decent streaming services. Will they ever complete the interview I sent them? Who knows what 2021 will bring!!!

Contact Clan Of Celts WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Soundcloud

BATALLON DE SAN PATRICIO – ‘F*ck Merry Christmas And F*ck You’

And finally the new single from Mexican Celtic-Punk newcomers Batallón De San Patricio. Why they got such a downer on Christmas is anyone’s guess but ding-dong merrily on high here it is anyway! It’s been a busy year for these guys with a hit album Hermanos de Guerra under their belts as well as making themselves known right across the Celtic-Punk world. The band’s name comes from the famed St. Patrick’s Battalion (see The Irish Soldiers Of Mexico In Film And Song). A group of immigrants, mainly of Irish descent, who deserted from the US Army because of anti-Catholic bigotry and went to fight for the Mexican Army during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). It’s a tale of great adventure and heroic valour. Batallón de San Patricio were formed in 2017 in Guadalajara and right from the start the idea was to pay tribute to their namesakes. In many ways the name was a obvious choice for a band whose chief aim was to play Celtic-Punk mixing Irish and Mexican culture.

Contact Batallón De San Patricio  Facebook  Bandcamp  YouTube

So that’s almost it for 2020. Tune in on Wednesday for our final post of the year. A fun packed Odd’n’Sods – Celtic Punk Round Up full of the most recent videos and news from around the scene.

OíCHE SHAMNA SHONA DAOIBH! NEW HALLOWEEN SINGLE FROM GRASS MUD HORSE

China, Halloween, Single Review October 31, 2020 Leave a comment

Chinese Celtic-Punk band Grass Mud Horse release a special Halloween themed single today but do you know that Halloween is a lot more than trick or treating and fancy dress? It’s origins go back to Ireland over a thousand years ago. Regarded as time of ‘The Celtic New Year’ marking the end of summer and the end of the harvest period. 

Woah Oh Woah Oh feed the hungry ghost
*
Come to the sea and swim at night
Where the darkness keeps us out of sight
We’ll drag you down and hold on tight
accept your fate don’t try to fight
When your spirits gone and I’ll let myself in
I’m free to walk about inside your skin
Come swim with us late at night
Where the darkness keeps us out of sight
*
Woah Oh Woah Oh feed the hungry ghost
*
When you’re walking home late at night
Try to keep yourself in the light
If you hear your name whispered slight
Don’t turn around don’t respond take flight
When your spirits gone and I let myself in
I’m free to walk about inside your skin
So don’t go walking late at night
Where the darkness keeps us out of sight
*
Woah Oh Woah Oh feed the hungry ghost
*

The Dead are literally rising from the grave

It’s pure chaos mass hysteria
The gates of hell have been thrust open
The souls of the hungry and forgotten march forth to exact their revenge
We’ll stay with you to the very end
May God have mercy on us all
*
Woah Oh Woah Oh feed the hungry ghost
*
Our new album Beijing Bikini is a collection of recordings we made in our first year, most of these where written before we had a band name or any musical direction. Many of the songs deal with life in China from a foreigners perspective. One of the songs I’m particularly proud of is the Hungry Ghost. I wrote it during the Chinese Ghost Month festival. It’s actually a really annoying time of year, cos people burn paper money, cell phones, e-bikes, and even little paper guitars and houses and things in the middle of the streets. We have to close all our windows in the height of the summer.
Anyway I was told some stories about why they make these offerings and I thought it was some of the spookiest shit I’ve ever heard! They burn these paper offerings to keep the ghosts of their ancestors happy and satiated, because during the ghost month the gates of hell open and they (the ghosts) can return to earth. Ghosts who have been forgotten by their families or committed evil during their life return as really dangerous hungry ghosts.
One thing they warn is not to swim during at night as the hungry ghosts are waiting to pull you under and drown you. But the story I thought was really cool and spooky, was if you’re walking home late at night and you hear someone calling your name behind you, DO NOT look behind you…it’s a hungry ghost who wants to eat your soul. Me and Rocco wrote some lyrics and I put it to music in the style of horror-punk for obvious reasons. We’ve made this video for the song to reflect the halloween season and the times we’re currently living in. I hope you enjoy it very much and Happy Halloween! 饿鬼👹
Chris from Grass Mud Horse. Qinhuangdao, China

Beijing Bikini is available on download only from the Bandcamp link below. You can support the band by buying the album or even just the song if you wish for just a measly dollar!

To find the origin of Halloween, you have to look to the festival of Samhain in Ireland’s Celtic past. Samhain had three distinct elements. Firstly, it was an important fire festival, celebrated over the evening of 31 October and throughout the following day. The flames of old fires had to be extinguished and ceremonially re-lit by druids. It was also a festival not unlike the modern New Year’s Day in that it carried the notion of casting out the old and moving into the new. To our pagan ancestors it marked the end of the pastoral cycle – a time when all the crops would have been gathered and placed in storage for the long winter ahead and when livestock would be brought in from the fields and selected for slaughter or breeding. But it was also, as the last day of the year, the time when the souls of the departed would return to their former homes and when potentially malevolent spirits were released from the Otherworld and were visible to mankind.

SAMHAIN AND ITS PLACE IN THE CELTIC CALENDAR
The Celts celebrated four major festivals each year. None of them was connected in anyway to the sun’s cycle. The origin of Halloween lies in the Celt’s Autumn festival which was held on the first day of the 11th month, the month known as November in English but as Samhain in Irish.

The original Celtic year 

Imbolc: 1st February, Beltaine: 1st May, Lughnasa: 1st August, Samhain: 1st November

The festivals are known by other names in other Celtic countries but there is usually some similarity, if only in the translation. In Scottish Gaelic, the autumn festival is called Samhuinn. In Manx it is Sauin. The root of the word – sam – means summer, while fuin means end. And this signals the idea of a seasonal change rather than a notion of worship or ritual. The other group of Celtic languages (known as Q-Celtic) have very different words but a similar intention. In Welsh, the day is Calan Gaeaf, which means the first day of winter. In Brittany, the day is Kala Goanv, which means the beginning of November. The Celts believed that the passage of a day began with darkness and progressed into the light. The same notion explains why Winter – the season of long, dark nights – marked the beginning of the year and progressed into the lighter days of Spring, Summer and Autumn. So the 1st of November, Samhain, was the Celtic New Year, and the celebrations began at sunset of the day before its Eve.

THE ORIGIN OF HALLOWEEN’S SPOOKINESS

For Celts, Samhain was a spiritual time, but with a lot of confusion thrown into the mix. Being ‘between years’ or ‘in transition’, the usually fairly stable boundaries between the Otherworld and the human world became less secure so that puka, banshees, fairies and other spirits could come and go quite freely. There were also ‘shape shifters’ at large. This is where the dark side of Halloween originated.

To ward off the evil let loose at Samhain, bonfires were lit and people wore disguises to confuse the spirits and stop the dead identifying individuals who they had disliked during their own lifetime. They also made a lot of noise to unsettle the spirits and drive them away from their homes. The timid, however, would leave out food in their homes, or at the nearest hawthorn or whitethorn bush (where fairies were known to live), hoping that their generosity would appease the spirits. For some, the tradition of leaving food (and a spoon to eat it!) in the home – usually a plate of champ or Colcannon – was more about offering hospitality to their own ancestors. Just as spells and incantations of witches were especially powerful at Samhain, so the night was believed to be full of portents of the future.

DOWNLOAD A FREE BOOK ON HALLOWEEN

The National Folklore Collection, which is managed at University College Dublin, has published a free booklet for Halloween. It explains the origins of Halloween and explores old Irish tales, legends and customs. You can download it (pdf 950Kb) here: Dúchas – Halloween.

NEW SINGLE FROM GRASS MUD HORSE ‘The Hill I Chose To Die On’ OUT NOW

China, Single Review May 20, 2020 Leave a comment

Grass Mud Horse are one of the newest additions to the Celtic Punk Scene. Strong song-writing and a fascinating backstory has helped this China based three piece turn a lot of heads.

Grass Mud Horse was originally just a group of mates who got together each week for beer and BBQ. They would come up with song ideas and even rap about their lives in the “Big Red” (China). Chris turned these ideas into punk songs and started recording some of the better ones. The band is comprised of expats living in Northern China, Chris Barry (Guitars Mando, Tin Whistle, Vocals) from the UK/Canada, Will Wyld (Drums) from Texas and Rocca Desta (Bass) from Scotland.

Their debut single “Christmas Time in China” was a catchy and hilarious fish out of water Christmas sing-along. Since then Chris and Grass Mud Horse have released a second single, the pirate punk “No Prey No Pay” (we exclusively released the video here on London Celtic Punks), and an Acoustic EP “The Quarantine Sessions.”

The EP, a mix of originals and traditional folk songs, was written and recorded on a porta-studio in an Inner Mongolian kitchen with whatever instruments Chris could find whilst the band was split up on lockdown in various parts of China. Like I said this band has a very interesting back story…

“…Where I was food ran out, we had martial law basically. I saw a woman push past a government check point and get battered by a dude in combats. We lost a lot as band, some big opportunities, including a tour opening for a big headliner….”

Chris on how the CORONAVIRUS has affected Grass Mud Horse. Things are now getting better in China, Chris and Will are back together jamming again (Rocco is still stuck in Scotland) and released their third single on May 15th “The Hill I Chose to Die on.”

(You can stream The Hill I Chose To Die On on the Bandcamp player below. It is also now available on most other download/ stream sites)

The new single is a welcome return to the “plugged-in” full-band sound for Grass Mud Horse. The song begins with a single mandolin, which is quickly joined by thunderous toms, accordion and thick punk rock guitar. The Intro peaks when the tin-whistle jumps in with a catchy riff. The first verse sees the arrangement reduced as the accordion and tin whistle drop out. Chris’s snarling vocals from “No Prey No Pay” return belting out the first lines “This is the hill I chose to die on, This is where you’ll find my grave…” The hook and content of the song has a bit of a story behind it too.

“…It was a Facebook fight! Two keyboard warriors where going at it, calling each other “millennial”, “boomer”, “gammon” etc. Somehow that whole thing with the bakery refusing to make a cake for a gay couple had come up again and the “millennial” posted about how he was amazed that this was the hill so many “gammon”, “boomers”…(or whatever I can’t remember exactly)….chose to die on. I’d heard the phrase before, but it hit me that in the context of this “generation war” that’s going on, it was very poetic and I grabbed me notebook and starting writing…”

The second half of the verse builds again with the reintroduction of the Accordion, before a brief dropout announces the arrival of the PreChorus. Yet another shift in dynamics brings the tin whistle back, but this time it sits back and harmonises with the catchy vocal Refrain “The World is changing so fast without me…” Another dynamic breakdown leads us into the first Chorus and the arrangement now includes all the instruments together in support of the hook. Following the first Chorus the tin whistle takes the lead again, with a return off the riff from the intro and then we have a repeat of the first verse, but this time the arrangement is broken down to just a little guitar, mando’ and light drums. The last few bars of this verse feature an energetic build up over the lines “…quiet, reserved, with not much to say…” and then we go back to the pre-chorus and repeat the chorus twice to see the song out.

The Hill I Chose To Die On is about keyboard warriors in an angry exchange and that is how the song plays out. The song builds as the anger builds, ending in a crescendo of passionate exchanges. The protagonists are angered and spent but the listener is exhilarated and excited like a near death experience. At just under two and a half minutes it’s a short but sweet song that will have you wanting to listen again. “The Hill I chose to Die on” is a well-produced song, but I’m left hungry for a full length release from Grass Mud Horse, which is something they do have in the works apparently.

The future for Grass Mud Horse like many bands right now is fairly uncertain. Chris tells me they have more songs from the Quarantine Sessions that they plan to release as a Part Two and possibly even Part Three EP. However the real focus will be finishing a full length Celtic Punk Record comprised of the singles so far and new material, which Chris hopes they will release later this year.

Download The Hill I Chose To Die On  Spotify  Bandcamp

Contact Grass Mud Horse  WebSite  Facebook   GMH Blog  YouTube

LONDON CELTIC PUNKS EXCLUSIVE VIDEO FROM CHINA! GRASS MUD HORSE NEW SINGLE.

China, England, Folk-Punk, Single Review February 22, 2020 Leave a comment

Holed up in their apartments in northern China Grass Mud Horse have been keeping pretty damn busy under quarantine and here is their second release, the pirate themed ‘No Prey No Pay’ and an exclusive first viewing of the video too.

Celtic-Punk based in Qinhuangdao, northern China! Singing about living in one of the strangest, most amazing and, at the moment, most dangerous places on Earth. Singing in both English and Chinese, their music is tongue in cheek and in the spirit of the best Celtic-Punk will make you smile! Grass Mud Horse are a punk band based in Northern China fronted by Chris Barry, who also writes all the songs. Originally from Liverpool he now lives in China and was also a member of the Canadian Rock band The Strange. The music is an eclectic mix of various punk styles, including Skate, hardcore, Ska, Celtic and features a diverse array of musical instruments (most also performed by Chris Barry). This is their second release after ‘Christmas Time In China’ and their next release will be a acoustic EP while the lads work on their debut album, Beijing Bikini, which has been delayed because of something I am sure you must have seen on the news!

We’re setting sail once more to raid
The Spanish Kings own gold
We’ll hunt his scurvy rotten ships
And plunder all they hold
We’re setting course with no remorse
We’re as rotten as we’re damned
We’ll spill their guts just cos we must
It’s to fortune or be hanged
*
 No prey no pay
Our code our way
No prey no pay
We fight we slay
No prey no pay
And to the Devil we say
The order of the day
No prey no pay
*
 Prepare to come about
A shot across the bow
The chance to end this now
Strike your colours be a coward
If you stand your ground
You’ll be shark bate when you drown
*
 Throw the boarding hooks
 Draw your cutlass swig a dram
 Prepare to board her men
 Smell their fear drink it in
Lads we’ll soon be rich
while this lot will soon be dead
* 
 We’re setting sail once more to raid
The Spanish Kings own gold
We’ll hunt his scurvy rotten ships
And plunder all they hold
We’re setting course with no remorse
We’re as rotten as we’re damned
We’ll spill their guts just cos we must
It’s to fortune or be hanged
*
No prey no pay
 No prey no pay
Our code our way
No prey no pay
We fight we slay
No prey no pay
And to the Devil we say
The order of the day
* 
 Crack of muskets dying screams
Clash of steel striking bone
 The sweetest sound I know
Blood streams into the sea
Another Battles won and the day is ours again
*

Now the reason for the bands name Grass Mud Horse is that it is the literal English translation of the Chinese term for the animal known as a llama or an Alpaca. In Chinese the llama is named 草泥马 (pronounced Cao Ni Ma.) As Chris says

“Now the reason we chose this for our name, is because if you say “Cao Ni Ma” with the wrong tones…you don’t say Alpaca at all, in fact you tell somebody to go fornicate with their mother.  In addition to this being quite funny, China is of course a land of extreme censorship and to avoid getting in trouble for swearing, young Chinese angrily exclaim “Llama!”, when in fact they mean something else entirely.”

So more proof if it was needed of the global reach of Celtic-Punk, even if Chris is a scouser! It’s hard enough for new bands to make a mark on the scene but when you are living and working in China it’s near impossible so do the guys a favour and download the song and leave them a ‘like’ on Facebook.

Grass Mud Horse  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

ALBUM REVIEW: SMZB- ‘The Chinese are Coming’ (2016)

Album Review, China October 10, 2016 Leave a comment

The new album celebrating the twentieth anniversary of SMZB.

One of the scene’s best bands and the only celtic-punk band in China!

smzb

smzb-logo

yes.. look again!

Celtic-punk in 2016 is truly a global music genre. Gone are the days when it was the preserve of spotty second, third or fourth generation Irish kids and welcome now to the World Of Celtic-Punk! SMZB hail from Wuhan in mainland China and were one of the first original Chinese punk bands forming in 1996. The name SMZB means Sheng Ming Zhi Bing and in English is literally, ‘Bread of Life’. Unsurprisingly when you hear their music the Chinese authorities have never taken kindly to them and so three of their albums have been banned at home. Sometime around the mid-noughties they made the decision to move away from their original raw sound of early British punk, ska and ’80s hardcore and add bagpipes, flutes and fiddles to their sound. Sounding like a combination of The Pogues, the Murphy’s and Rancid they have deservedly become absolutely huge in their native country and their fame is growing outside China too. They have toured Europe a few times, including earlier this year though sadly never visiting these shores, as well as recording several acclaimed albums including a split with Norwegian celtic-punk legends Greenland Whalefishers.

smzb-band

The Chinese Are Coming was released on Maybe Mars Records on September 30 this year and begins with the drone of bagpipes through the ‘Intro’ with pounding drums joining in and soon enough the album explodes in your earholes with some quality celtic-punk. SMZB may have been the first and still are arguably the best Chinese punk band but the video to the album’s real opener ‘Ten Thousand Ways To Rebel’ shows they are not alone and features several other local punk bands and is a tribute to Lei Jun China’s first skinhead and Beijing’s punk godfather, who passed away a year previous to this video being premiered this year on the 6th of May.

Reading through the lyrics and knowing the conditions they live in you can only marvel at how brave the band are for singing what they do. It certainly shows up some of the ‘revolutionary’ bands in the west who seem more concerned with getting on the bill at Rebellion festival and getting a huge payday.

“You cannot change anyone in the world,
The only one you can change is yourself.
When you find out the truth and their lies,
That’s when you should do something”

The band to be referenced most here is of course The Dropkick Murphys and SMZB have nailed their sound perfectly. It is all bagpipes and catchy as hell punk rock. Up next is ‘The Chinese Are Coming’ which was the first single off the album and begins with a Ramones-ish

“Hey, Ho! Where shall we go?”

and while on the accompanying video the lyrics are sung in English on the album its in their native language but the words show SMZB’s great sense of humour as well as adding in a great bit of Irish folk thanks to some expert tin whistle playing.

‘Born In The PRC’ is not a celtic-punk version of The Bosses song but an angry and vitriolic response to the nationalism of their government and what punk means to those who face real oppression on a daily basis not like the pampered students here in the west whose oppression is only inside their own imaginations.

“I was born in the P.R.C., it’s such a tragedy,
It’s a so-called nation, but really a fake nation.
I don’t want to living here, I don’t have any choice,
There’s only one party here, I want to be their enemy.
I was born in the P.R.C., the nation with autocracy,
Punx Rebellion of China, is what it means to me.
I was born in the P.R.C., in 2 years I’ll be 40,
Still can’t live freely, that’s why I’m still on stage”

SMZB keep up the pace with ‘Road To Petition’ which brings in the banjo to great effect while ‘Generation’ has a much more traditional folky feel to it showing that the lads can turn it up and down when required. The next song is ‘Flower Of The Socialism’ and is fast heads down, balls out, two fingers to the world, punk rock which slows down only briefly for a few seconds of tin whistle while band founder Wu Wei spits out the words that obviously come straight from his heart.

“You have to try to play your role well, or choose to be a bastard.
You have to try to forget your dream, and then into the arm of reality.
You can’t to extricate yourself from here, you are the one of scars.
Socialism already in bloomed here, you have also sprouted in this land”

smzb-logo-2The next couple of songs, ‘Sunny Speculation’ and ‘One Night In Prison’ are sung in their native language again. Fast tuneful Murphyesque punk is the order of the day. They may have started as a straight up punk band but its thanks to the fantastic abilities of Tang on bagpipes and tin whistle and Tu Dou on banjo that that transition has been so successful. ‘Welcome To China’ sees a return to English in a song that bites back against tourism and the attitude of tourists when they visit China. Now if you have heard ‘White Noise’ on the Stiff Little Fingers album Inflammable Material then you will get what the breakneck ‘The Chinese Are Coming Again’ is about. If you haven’t heard it then give it a quick blast here. Its fair to say their still enormous mistrust of Chinese immigrants and here SMZB expose the bigots that would treat people as a mass rather than individuals. ‘Colonial Trip’ features a guest female vocalist and is reminescent of The Dubliners/Pogues until an electric guitar bursts in and we are brought up to the present day. A great song that nicely straddles both the past and present and even ends with some trumpet playing thrown in to the mix. ‘Tattoo The Earth’ again is more Poguesy while ‘Redemption Song’ takes Bob Marley’s original song and turns it into a celtic-punk classic with the pipes playing loud and proud. The Chinese Are Coming comes to an end with the absolutely stunning ‘Song Of The Seagull’. The longest track on the album, at well over seven minutes, its a tribute to Lin Zhao. A Chinese student from Peking University who was jailed in 1960 for pro-democracy activities. The song is based on a poem she wrote in prison where, forbidden to use pens, she composed countless articles and poems using a hairpin dipped in her own blood. In 1968 she was executed and in 1981 Lin was officially exonerated though the Chinese government still to this day are reluctant to allow any mention of her or her writings. Find out more about the tragic life of Lin Zhao here.

Beginning with just piano, acoustic guitar and the beautiful voice of their guest vocalist (sorry but I couldn’t find her name anywhere) before the full band kicks in with their tribute and some angry celtic-punk rock brings the curtain down on the song and the album. I simply cannot imagine a better way to end this album. A song dripping with emotion and meaning and that symbolises everything that SMZB stand for.

smzb-band-2

Fifteen tracks and over fifty minutes to boot that gives you more than enough for your money and if there is ever a band in the celtic-punk scene that demands your support than it is SMZB. Being the only celtic-punk band in your state or city can be a lonely experience but SMZB have become an icon of Chinese music that deserve to be heard far beyond their own country. What they have to say is important and we can be grateful that they have chosen to wrap it some of the best celtic-punk music you will hear.

(listen to The Chinese Are Coming for free by pressing play on the Bandcamp player below before splashing out your $10 on buying it and supporting this awesome band!)

Buy The Album

FromTheBand

Contact The Band

WebSite  Facebook  Bandcamp

(full concert of SMZB from their 15th Anniversary show back in 2011)

2015 REVIEWS ROUND UP PART THREE- THE CHERRY COKE$, SMZB, THE GO SET, LEXINGTON FIELD, MICKEY RICKSHAW

Album Review, Australia, China, Japan, USA December 16, 2015 Comments: 2

2015 has been another exciting year for celtic-punk releases but sadly we haven’t had a chance to review everything we received or heard so here’s the last of our ‘Round-Up’s’ catching up with some of of the more obscure records we missed first time round as well as a couple of the scene’s major celtic-punk hitters. These releases prove that celtic-punk has gone global!

THE CHERRY COKE$- ‘Self Titled’

Cherry Coke$Now The Cherry Coke$ won’t win any awards for Best Name but when it comes to celtic-punk then that is more than possible. Formed in 1999 in Tokyo in Japan they play extremely tight and fast traditional Irish music. Absolutely huge at home, they regularly appear on TV, and this is their ninth release since forming. I have only heard two of their previous records but I can tell you that this self titled album is at least as good as what I have heard before. As mentioned they are tight and powerful and as clear an example of what James Stephens said back in the 1840’s that “it is not blood that makes you Irish but a willingness to be part of the Irish nation”. Easily as good as anything in celtic-punk this is proper party music and a perfect example of what the album has in store is the opening track ‘Rise Again’ for which they and Japan MTV produced this great video.

Ten songs coming in just shy of forty-five minutes so the songs gets plenty of time to develop and like all the best bands in celtic-punk they know how to play a ballad or a traditional folk number as well as punk it up to the high hills! The quality of the playing is amazing, especially the folk instruments. To be put in the same bracket as Flogging Molly but having grown up in different continents its hard to say who is following who here. Absolutely brilliant and well worth checking them out. Couldn’t find a link for you to buy the album but have a look round and see if you can.

Facebook  WebSite  YouTube

SMZB- ‘A Letter From China’  (BUY)

SMZBNow for something well out of ours (and yours too no doubt) comfort zone. Its one thing to review a Japanese band in The Cherry Coke$ but they been around for years and most celtic-punk ‘knowitalls’ would have heard of them but SMZB are the real underground celtic-punk band… from China. Yes China and they have been playing punk rock since 1996. Their lyrics and music are not appreciated much by the Chinese authorities so three of their albums have been banned. They toured Europe in 2005 and around this time took the decision to move away from their original raw sound of early British punk, ska and ’80s hardcore and add bagpipes, flutes and fiddles to their sound. How or why they decided this is unknown as the internet don’t have an awful lot on them. They have though received plaudits galore from the various celtic-punk sites and sounding like a combination of The Pogues, the Murphy’s and Rancid they have gone on to be absolutely huge in their native country. Previous releases include a split LP with celtic-punk legends The Greenland Whalefishers. A Letter From China makes the bands intentions clear. The cover features a red tank with the caption ‘1989-2014 25th Anniversary’ as well as their rather interesting band logo (have another look!!) Its basically well played melodic punk sung partly in English but with bagpipes chucked into the mix. Its all very very catchy and opener ‘A Song for Chen Huaimen’ seems to be about the singers grandfather where he compares himself to a Chinese fighter pilot who fought against the Japanese. Fourteen songs in just under a hour and some real beauties especially in ‘Smash His Statue’ SMZB hit the real celtic-punk highlights and its songs like this that get them into trouble and long may they rebel! There’s an oldish interview with Wu Wei from SMZB here from The Guardian in England

LastFM    DeadlambRecords  MySpace  GenjingRecords

THE GO SET- ‘Rolling Sound’  (BUY)

The Go SetIf there was an award for most hard working on the other hand then I think it is The Go Set who would deserve it. Yeah I know The Mahones never stop touring but for an independent DIY band to be able to finance themselves to be able to tour quite as much as The Go Set do is quite an amazing achievement. This year not only did they play a pretty long tour of the USA but they also made in over here to Europe including Blighty to play a few gigs around the big Rebellion punk festival. Formed in 2003 in Melbourne in Australia we have long been big fans of the Aussie celtic-punk scene and The Go Set are one of the biggest and best bands among them. With a bunch of first rate and critically acclaimed albums The Go Set released seventh album Rolling Sound to a helluva lot of expectation and it didn’t disappoint at all. The album begins with a bagpipe dirge that grows in sound before exploding into ‘Bones’

which has all the trademarks of The Go Set’s fantastic sound. Justin’s clear and distinctive Aussie accented vocals atop of catchy tuneful punk rock accompanied by great bagpiping and mandolin from Lachlan and Ben. Politics is never too far away and the lyrics deal with the social and political plights of the working classes, speaking out both for them and with them. The music doesn’t stand still for a second but the boys spread their wings beyond celtic-punk and as is the way for a typical Go Set album it’s their slower stuff I actually prefer more than their full on punk. Stand out punky tracks include the title song, ‘Bones’, ‘The Struggle And The Fight’ but its the working class celtic ballad ‘In The Streets’ that gets me. Yet another blinder from The Go Set and further cements their place as one of the best bands in the celtic-punk scene.

WebSite  Facebook  Twitter  YouTube  ReverbNation

LEXINGTON FIELD- ‘Greenwood’  (BUY)

Lexington Field

Lexington Field formed in 2009 in San Diego, CA and Greenwood is the bands fourth album so they have been pretty prolific in their short existence. They describe themselves as ‘Fiddle Rock’ and while it is true that the fiddle does loom large in Lexington Fields sound it by no means dominates and when its quite hard to pigeonhole a band then it makes sense to invent your own genre! Having followed the band since their early days I am again happy to say that Greenwood has hit the spot nicely. Thirteen tracks and forty minutes gives the songs plenty of time to develop and Beau’s great vocals and lyrics stand out as usual giving Lexington Field that extra bit more. Their has been a fair amount of personnel change in the last couple of years but finally the band are settled down and Greenwood is the result. The more celtic-punk days are behind them and Lexington Field are another band who have spread beyond the genre while at the same time keeping one foot firmly in place. The album starts with the furious ‘Ghostwriter’ and the rest of Greenwood keeps up the place with ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide Out of Suburbia’ following.

The catchy, fist in the air music coupled with the dark lyrics is sometimes at odds with the almost jolly sometimes music. The fiddle and the banjo keep them in folk-punk land and they are signed to folk-punk friendly East Grand Records who have no end of great bands on their roster, including more than a couple excellent celtic-punk bands. From the pounding and metalesque ‘Target Rich Environment’ to the slow punk rock ballad ‘Calarity Jane’ this is a fantastic album and Beau further shows his talents as one of the best lyricist’s in celtic-punk.

Facebook  WebSite  Twitter  YouTube  ReverbNation  Bandcamp  

East Grand Records

MICKEY RICKSHAW- ‘No Heaven For Heroes’  (BUY)

Well well well we all know The Dropkick Murphys can’t go on for ever and with Boston’s place secured in celtic-punk folklore who then will take on their mantle when they have gone? Well fellow Bostonians Mickey Rickshaw are up for the job. A team of young fired up blue collar Irish Americans in touch with both their working class American lives and their roots back in the auld country. With Boston’s massive Irish population as well as its place in the history of punk then traditional celtic folk and punk rock aggression equals the 100% perfect sound for the Boston Irish and if the Murphys invented celtic punk post Pogues then its bands like Mickey Rickshaw that will carry for the flame for the next generation. The EP ’16 Down and Back Again’ came out in 2013 but it has been No Heaven For Heroes that has seen their name explode onto the celtic-punk scene with universal great reviews and plaudits heaped upon them from all corners of the globe. The first of the album’s twelve tracks starts with an eastern European flavour before ‘Sapphire Hills’ hits you in the jaw. The album flows mercilessly at at breakneck speed with no let up and the few times you think a ballad is on its way you are resoundly proved wrong!

‘Sapphire Hills’ is an early standout as is ‘I’m Sorry Mrs Mahoney’ but after a few listens you begin to realise that the whole album is one big standout. The album takes in some nice touches of ska as well as hardcore and will leave you out of breath and ready to swop all your Dropkick t-shirts for Mickey Rickshaw ones. Unbelievably the album is available to download for just a single dollar so get on there as quick as you can and make haste to get it into your earholes! LONG LIVE BOSTON CELTIC-PUNK!!!!

Facebook  Bandcamp  YouTube  

So ends Part 3 and again apologies to all the bands that we weren’t able to give each album the full London Celtic Punks treatment but was just not possible with time on our backs. If you missed Parts One and Two check them out (Part One here and Part Two here)but if you don’t want to miss any of our posts in future then you can follow us by simply filling in your e-mail address in the box that is either below or to the left depending how you are viewing and you will receive every post to your in-box.

%d bloggers like this: