ALBUM REVIEW: FIRKIN – Spice It Up! (2023)

Hungarian Celtic-Punk legends and trailblazers Firkin release their seventh studio album.

Pretty much a year to the day when their last single came out Firkin have released their new album Spice It Up! Moving on from the, amicable, loss of singer Andy to be replaced by a good friend of the band for many years Ákos. Not be the first time Firkin have changed singers but the spirit of the band outlasts any individual members and a whole new era began with the aptly named single ‘Still Alive’.

One of the most prominent and internationally well known European Celtic-Punk bands Firkin formed in 2008 in the Hungarian capital of Budapest by expert flutist PJ. Since then they have put out dozens of releases and toured pretty much every inch of Europe, including playing a stunning one-off show, that we’ll never forget, in London on New Years Eve 2015. Now on their third vocalist after Barna left in 2014 and then Andy they have risen to the challenge using the change in personal to their advantage. With more than 700 concerts in 17 countries they have had gold albums, been nominated for a Hungarian Grammy Award, their song ‘Focimese’ became the official song of the Hungarian football team for the 2016 UEFA Championships and these are just a small selection of highlights in their illustrious career. With Covid closing down the music industry for a couple of years it’s taken some bands a while to get back on their feet but Firkin have constantly looked to the future and currently they are working on a symphonic orchestral production as well as a full length children’s theatre due to premier next year. 

So time to review Firkins new album, their seventh. Released on St. Patrick’s day just gone and the album begins with the superb and catchy ‘The Drunken Angels’ Club’ and the guys don’t just deliver a great opener but a very clever one about an unsuspecting bar and a message that you don’t need alcohol or drugs as a solution to the problems of life.

“Little did I know, One day the innocent cherub, Would end up in, The Angels’ Club”

The album has twelve songs of which four are covers beginning with the next three and a tremendous Celtic-Punk re-interpretation of the sea shanty ‘Santiana’. The song dates from at least the 1850’s and is inspired it is thought by events during the Mexican–American War. This is followed by ‘Donald MacGillavry’. Now some trad Folk songs are ripe for beefing up a bit with electric guitars and drums and this is one of them. Keltikon released a great version a few years back which I’m sure helped put the song on a few bands radars. Firkin’s trademark flute gets the song moving and Ákos voice is strong as well as his accent! A song that links the Scottish and Irish Folk traditions. This is followed by another cover and ‘Step It Out Mary’ is an old traditional Irish song about a beautiful girl called Mary whose father is one day asked by a wealthy countryman for her hand in marriage. She was promised all the gold and silver she could ever want and a wedding date was set. Mary though was not interested and at around midnight on the day of her wedding she was found dead drowned with her lover in a nearby stream.

‘Still Alive’ came out April last year and announced Ákos arrival in the band and a fresh start for Firkin.  The video would garner six international film awards, including Best Music Video at the London Independent Film Awards and six other nominations. They speed it right up for ‘Ticktack’ and here the undercurrent of Metal is very obvious but at all times it never overpowers Firkin’s music. That they can play relatively heavy music while remaining totally accessible it some achievement. PJ gets to show off his considerable talent next in the amazing ‘Haiku’. An instrumental of modern day Irish Folk with drums clashing and drums crashing. Again its heavy background is disguised just enough to make you not realise you’re banging your head along to it! They slow it down for ‘How We Love’ an acoustic number where Ákos vocals shine accompanied by plaintive fiddle and acoustic guitar. The first single released to announce the imminent arrival of the album was ‘For A Life’. A song where you can sense the relief at the end of the pandemic and a chance of a fresh start. The excellent video was supported by the Hungarian National Cultural Fund and directed, photographed and edited by Köge.

We are nearing the end and the last of the covers is ‘Finnegan’s Wake’, a raucous Irish-American song which tells of a hod-carrier named Tim Finnegan, who was born “with a love for the liquor” who falls from a ladder and breaks his skull and is thought to be dead until he is revived at his wake meaning whiskey was the cause of both his death and resurrection! The song was first published in New York in 1864 and perhaps is best known as a staple of both the Dropkick Murphys and the Dubliners although it’s never been quite played like this with a smoky backroom jazzy opening before it erupts into the song so beloved by many. ‘Stir It Up!’ is a lively Irish rocker and pretty standard Firkin while the curtain comes down on Spice It Up! with ‘The Boys Are On The Loose’ and there’s an old Hungarian saying ”Only the Donkey drinks alone!”. A fantastic Celtic-Punk anthem to see us out. Fast and furious and one to beat up the floor to that includes the line that many of us utter to ourselves “Ooo, I’ll never drink again… Only this weekend”.

Janos Peter (PJ)

Balazs Karpati (Bazsi)

Robert Juhasz (Ese)

Lili Virag

Peter Szuna (Shuti)

Akos Kelemen

A great album and a great return to form for Firkin and demonstrates Ákos has slotted in perfectly. For those new to the Celtic-Punk scene it may surprise some that Hungary is pretty damn famous for it’s Celtic-Punk. The scene there is one of the best in Europe and it’s my ambition to get over there and sample some of it live. It’s no shock that all the bands in the scene pay homage to Firkin for their inspiration and help and with their incredible work ethic it surely won’t be long before they achieve international glory. 

Get Spice It Up! https://bfan.link/spice-it-up-1  GoldRecords

Contact Firkin  WebSite  Facebook   YouTube  Instagram

ALBUM REVIEW: PADDY AND THE RATS – ‘From Wasteland to Wonderland’ (2022)

Hot on the heels of gaining a double over hapless England, Hungary has even more to shout about like the 6th full length studio album from Paddy And The Rats. A pirate party fuelled by heavy doses of Punk, Polka and Irish Folk and a worthy tribute to accordion player Bernie who passed away not long before the release of this album.  

It’s hard to begin this review without mentioning the sad loss the band suffered at the beginning of this year when their friend and fellow band mate Bernie Bellamy (Bernát Babicsek) sadly passed away.

“Speaking about the new song, the band says, “this album became very important to us because this is the last thing that Bernie recorded in his life. We’d like to dedicate the first single of the album to Bernie and to express all our emotions through the song we release first. That’s why we’ve chosen After The Rain. It’s a sad song but it also has a fully positive vibe. Sadness and desperation are there through the whole song, but meanwhile, you can feel something powerful when the pipe and the accordion come in at the drop. It conveys the feeling that you have to be strong and you have to move on. The last line in the chorus says: ‘After the rain, sunshine will never be the same’. I think this is the essence of the song. The absence of Bernie will be more endurable with time, but nothing will ever be the same without him.”

An awful thing to happen and we send our love to Bernie’s family and friends.

Bernie’s sad death dominates the album in more ways than one. Beside the tracks written especially for him the themes visited here can also be attributed like the sudden death of a friend,the loss of faith, misery but their are also uplifting songs with more irreverent themes like the obligatory drinking and pirate ones. Their recent albums have seen them a slight shift away from the Celtic-Punk that made them one of the biggest live acts in their home country but on From Wasteland To Wonderland they return fully to form but still manage to squeeze in several unexpected influences and flourishes.

Only a few weeks after bemoaning how long it had been since the Hungarian Celtic-Punk scene reared it’s head both The Scarlet and now Paddy And The Rats land on the pages of London Celtic Punks. Now one of the things that made the scene their so great was the diverse nature of the bands with none of them sounding even remotely alike and all and any variation of Celtic-Punk covered. Formed in Miskolc in the industrial northeast of Hungary in 2008 they have become popular outside Hungary and have toured all over Europe.

For the new album, the band teamed up once again with long time producer Zoli Baker who has done an outstanding job. From Wasteland To Wonderland is exactly that with the opening track titled ‘Wasteland’ right up to the final track ‘Wonderland’. Thirteen  songs and forty-five minutes later! The opener was one of the first tracks written for the albium and is classic Rats with Celtic-Punk flavoured with a little Eastern promise alongside hard riffs, playful fiddle solo and catchy melodies. The next couple of songs see them flip into pirate mode with ‘Ship Will Sail’

“To the end of the world I’ll ride
For you, no place to hide
Till’ I hunt you down
Our ship will sail”

and then ‘Party Like A Pirate’. Two swashbuckling knees up that would have Captain Sparrow jigging like a right one. Seeing how recently vindicated Johnny Depp is a big Celtic-Punk fan this may be no surprise!

“Dressed up for the party

A one-eyed gent of elegance

My wooden leg is stuck in the lower deck

My freshly polished eye rolled down my neck”

Released as a single with an exciting accompanying video. The band said of the video –

“We shot the video in Tenerife in famous places like the Volcano Teide and the classic pirate village in Maska. The story starts on a pirate ship where a bunch of pirates have a party and bully a witch who curses the pirates to wake up in the present. They try to understand the modern world which leads to very funny situations. The song is a typical Paddy And The Rats party song – causing the urge to dance in everyone who listens to the catchy melody.”

The first single from the album was ‘After The Rain’. It’s a song we featured on release as it was a moving tribute to their friend and comrade Bernie. ‘Northern Lights’ takes in some thrashy Metal along the way adding some Scandinavian touches too by way of the lyrics, like Northern Lights or the girl with the shiny green hair.. Never afraid to try something different ‘Matadora’ sees some Mariachi-style trumpets while the haunting ‘Standing In The Storm’ slows things down. While we expect the unexpected from Paddy And The Rats ‘Everybody Get Up’ was still a bit of a shock with it’s fiddle intro and then straight into some Hip Hop ala Beastie Boys or Run DMC but still with the irreverent lyrics we do expect!

We wanted to visualise it, so we are wearing absolute different style clothing in the clip, summoning the New York hip hop and hardcore bands outfit of the 80’s. We made a very cool and funny mood video that can’t be taken serious, at all. So many bad things happened to us recently that we needed some happiness, at last. So we took our teenage ourselves out again and were just fooling around.”

‘Hometown Kid’ sees the lads channelling Green Day while lamenting the auld days as better. Which they were obviously. ‘Heartbreaker’ is pretty straight forward Hard Rock but with fiddle while ‘Rumble Outta Here’ plays like old old Paddy And The Rats. The lyrics tell of a long relationship, where you’ve been humiliated and leave and realise what you really need is your friends and a good drink in your favourite pub. They save the best for last and I bloody loved ‘The Last Hunt’. A great fast tune with the whole band giving it plenty in the chorus. The album ends, of course, with ‘Wonderland’ and appropriately enough a ballad. 2022 has not been a great year for them but hopefully they can put the first half of the year to bed now.

Comparisons to Alestorm are inevitable I suppose (the artwork designed by Jill Colbert, who also works with Alestorm, doesn’t help!) but these guys were at this a long time before Alestorm. They show enough here to prove they could blow Alestorm away in front of their own audience but still keep both feet in the Celtic-Punk camp. All of a sudden it feels like the Hungarian scene is back with a bang and the worldwide Celtic-Punk scene is all the better for it.

(Listen to selected tracks and download the album via the Bandcamp player)

Buy From Wasteland to Wonderland  CD / Vinyl   EverywhereElse

Contact Paddy And The Rats  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram  Spotify

Discography  Rats on Board (2009) * Hymns for Bastards (2011) * Tales from the Docks (2012) * Lonely Hearts’ Boulevard (2015) * Riot City Outlaws (2017) * From Wasteland to Wonderland (2022)

ALBUM REVIEW: THE SCARLET – ‘Freedom Call’ (2022)

⚓ Brand new album from The Scarlet. Folk-Punk crazies from Hungary 🇭🇺

Their was a time, and it wasn’t all that long ago that the Celtic-Punk scene in Hungary was without doubt the best in the whole of Europe. We even once ran a feature on the scene there called The Who’s Who: Top Ten and celebrated Hungarian Celtic-Punk Week back in 2018. Since those days we have of course had the pandemic so it’s always great, and an enormous relief, to hear that our Celtic-Punk bands have survived and have continue to release some great music.

“you can feel that we are fed up with the confinement and anxiety all over the record“

The Scarlet were formed in the Hungarian capital Budapest in 2012 and Freedom Call is their follow up to their 2017 debut album Hardcore Shanties which itself followed a Demo EP and the excellent Midnight Avenue, six songs of self penned Dropkick Murphys influenced Celtic-Punk blessed with plenty of pirate ‘Yo-Ho-Ho’s’ and Metal guitar riffs.

The Scarlet left to right: Aurel – Bass * Juli – Flute * Daniel – Vocals * Dominika – Violin * Gabor – Drums * Hubi – Guitar *

The work for the album actually began before the pandemic with two songs released back in those carefree days that would lead to Freedom Call. The album kicks off with ‘Now Once And For All’ and the welcome return of thrashy Metal guitar coupled with some stunning fiddle work from Dominika is a reminder of The Scarlet’s sound. Dániel’s vocals are clear and focused and the slight accent is reminiscent of many of the other Hungarian bands who also mostly sing in English,. The schools over there must be excellent. A great opener with all the required boxes – catchy danceable fun.

‘Rebel Inside You’ takes the Celtic-Punk of the opener and adds a slight Ska / Reggae tinge while also injecting the sound of Pirate-Punk as well. Fast and catchy again and it’s good to see that with some new members on board they seem to have slotted in well. Like fellow countrymen Firkin, The Scarlet use the flute to great effect. I wasn’t too overly keen on this instrument until we were lucky enough to put on Firkin one special New Years Eve in London a few years back and their manic flautist PJ stole the show completely. Since then I have grown to love it and coupled here with the fiddle it ensures that the ‘Celtic-ness’ is never left out. Longest track ‘Storm Earth And Fire’ tells of pirate life and begins with acoustic guitar and is perhaps the perfect combination of Celtic and Metal while still remaining kind of pretty traditional Celtic-Punk. These are not your usual band and their songs take several paths but always in a interesting way. Of several standouts here ‘Urban Buccaneer’ is my favourite. Take it for granted that all these songs are catchy as hell and guaranteed to get your feet moving. ‘Back To The Pub’ sees the compulsory beer song ticked off with the Punkest song here! ‘On My Way’ was the first single from the album and was a great way to announce their return. Another high point for Freedom Call.

The songs here have an amazing quality about that in that I feel they could be completely accessible to anyone. The underlying Folk tunes and sometimes harder Rock riffs fit together very well and could easily please anyone fortunate to come across the band. ‘Serve The Dark’ chugs along at a lovely pace while ‘Little Sister (Of Your Pal)’ sees The Scarlet ‘Irish’ it up with a song with a nice sense of humour. Not a band you hear a lot of covers from they see out Freedom Call with ‘Country Medley’ with The Scarlet treatment given to several famous Country-ish songs (‘Country Roads’, ‘5000 Miles’, ‘Cotton Eye Joe’) and while it could have easily slipped into cheesyness it manages to just stay on the right side though perhaps that is exactly what they were going for.

The album was again mixed and recorded by Zoltán Cs.Szabó, of the Hungarian garage rock band The Trousers, at the Artist Factory studio in Budapest who has done a brilliant job. He has also worked on their previous releases and has always got the maximum out of The Scarlet. Their are only nine songs here but it does last just over half an hour and the songs never outlast their welcome. Another great album from The Scarlet who deserve to be heard a lot more from outside their own borders. Me and the good lady are looking forward to visiting Hungary sometime in the near future and I intend to be arranging it to coincide with The Scarlet playing so expect a glowing gig review when I get back!

(You can stream the whole of Freedom Call below on You Tube)

Download Freedom Call  Various Sites Here

Contact The Scarlet  Instagram  Facebook  YouTube

ALBUM REVIEW: THE CRAZY ROGUES – ‘Advanced Roguery’ (2021)

The new album from Hungary’s The Crazy Rogues again stretches what we think of as Celtic-Punk while still keeping both feet firmly in the Celtic-Punk scene.

So it is that just a couple of weeks after we featured the release of their lead single we now have the pleasure of reviewing Advanced Roguery from The Crazy Rogues. This is the first full length album from the band after several EP’s, all of which have been received favourably by the Celtic/Folk- Punk press, and while the Hungarian Celtic-Punk scene has been a bit quiet of late it never too long before a high quality release hits the shops. Formed in Veszprém in mid-Hungary in 2014 they are among the earliest of the second wave of Hungarian Celtic-Punk bands after the likes of Paddy And The Rats and Firkin. It’s been a long four years since the Rebels’ Shanties EP and what a four years it has been!

The Crazy Rogues: Teo Biermann – Flute, Vocals * László Verrasztó – Lead Vocals * Dávid Csillag – Violin, Vocals * Krisztián Fellegi – Banjo, Mandolin, Vocals * Gábor Fazekas – Guitars, Vocals * Péter Németh – Bass * Ákos Nagy – Drums *

The album kicks off with ‘Bull’s Eye’ and one thing The Crazy Rogues have never been afraid of and that is to experiment and escape the basic standard Celtic-Punk formula. Eastern Europe meets Far-West Europe as the influences bounce off each other with gang shouts and mandolin and fiddle embracing László’s great vocals. Catchy as hell and some great lyrics too in a story about stealing from a gangster. Even their songs subject matter makes a nice change! Advanced Roguery includes three tracks released for St. Patrick’s Day 2019 but all re-recorded and re-mastered. The first of which is the Punky ‘Fight You’ another great story this time of a man betrayed and now out for revenge. The Crazy Rogues can’t quite escape their PaddyPunk roots and they do a utterly fantastic cover of one of the most famous and popular Irish rebel songs. ‘Black ’n’ Tans’ has become a bit of a standard now among Celtic-Punk bands with it’s rousing chorus and violent call to arms against the British army.

“Come out and fight me like a man”

As we often say the test of a truly great Celtic-Punk band is their ability to turn to a ballad or quieter moments and on ‘Brother’ they achieve it with some very moving lyrics and the tune that takes an upbeat turn half way through. ‘Man Cave’ is the second of the re-mastered tracks and one thing that the pandemic proved was that men have been pushed out of the house under the illusion of having their own space. Several friends now have these spaces in their back gardens where they can keep their football memorabilia or music without being nagged at!

“Our sacred base, A hideout for the days, When man can be what he’s meant to be”

Now for the album’s standout track and no surprise that the band chose ‘Empire Of Sand’ as the albums lead single. Blending their trademark Celtic-Punk sound with Arabic tunes making a perfect example of what they call ‘Rogue’n’Roll’ that was released back in June 2021 in a live studio session.

The video above is a slightly different from that on the album, for that you’ll have to listen to it on the  Bandcamp player below. ‘Lady With A Lily Crown’ and ‘Better Than Home’ both give a wee nod to a famous (non) Irish Folk song and rattle along at a fair pace before we are in for a real Celtic-Punk rattler with ‘King Of The Alehouse’ with some clever wordplay about unrequited love in Kilkenny. We nearing the end and ‘Too Far Away’ is a nice ballad style track before the last of the re-done songs, Stranger’s Tale’ and having not heard the 2019 versions I can’t comment on how different they are except that they are all among the best songs on Advance Roguery.

One of the things that Hungarian bands have especially embraced is the flute and while I wasn’t much of a fan It was while watching fellow Hungarians Firkin that I fell in love with its use. The curtain comes down on Advance Roguery with ‘Walk The Line’ and takes as it’s base traditional Irish and Moldovan Folk tunes with some great guitar and drum work and and a uplifting accompanying Punky tune.

Expertly recorded, mixed and mastered by Botlik Mátyás at Grenma Studios in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Botlik has captured the sound of the band perfectly. Their are twelve songs here of which eight are compositions written by the band and together they represent well the journey The Crazy Rogues have taken over the years. Advanced Roguery blends the old with the new though their sound is still underpinned by Celtic-Punk you will find a variety of styles here that all sound terrific together and they lift the band to a whole new level of roguery!

(You can stream and download Advanced Roguery on the Bandcamp player below)

Buy Advanced Roguery  Bandcamp 

Contact The Crazy Rogues  Facebook  SoundCloud  YouTube  Instagram

THE CRAZY ROGUES NEW SINGLE ‘Empire Of Sand’ OUT NOW

Hungarian Celtic-Punk band The Crazy Rogues are back with a new Folk-Punk song inspired by a different part of the world than usual but still with as much crazy, rogue vibe as they could muster.

2015 and 2017 were the years that Hungarian bands dominated the Celtic-Punk scene. A whole slew of bands had releases that filled those years Best Of charts and one of the many bands was The Crazy Rogues. Founded in 2014 in the city of Veszprém their stated aim was to spread the mood and atmosphere of Irish pubs all over Hungary.
One of the things the Hungarian scene was famous for was not sticking to the standard Celtic-Punk formula and The Crazy Rogues mixed in plenty of other influences from around the world for a sound they called ‘Rogue’n’Roll’.

With things returning to normal it’s great news to see bands back on the stage and back in the studio and a brand new track, Empire Of Sand, came out last week. The video below is a slightly different version from the one released so be sure to listen to the Bandcamp one below as well. The song is the first single from The Crazy Rogues forthcoming new album, set for release soon, and blends their trademark Celtic-Punk sound with Arabic tunes. It will feature twelve songs, of which eight will be new compositions from the band, and we can’t wait to hear it.

The Sun goes high,
Crawls towards the top of the Sky…
It shines so bright
It makes you wish you could die

Masters they watch
Whipping on our backs one more notch
We work all day
We won’t live too long I’m afraid

Our name in your mouth:
stinky slave dog
You think my life or
death’s worth even less than a great slog
You refuse to rest
at our campfire
But our dirty hands
are building your empire

Chorus:
Hot sand in waves
worn-out slaves
Just keep the pace
It’s a deadly place
Pyramid’s tall
I will outlive you all
building it up
you will have to fall

The Crazy Rogues: Teo Biermann – Flute, Vocals * László Verrasztó – Lead Vocals * Dávid Csillag – Violin, Vocals * Krisztián Fellegi – Banjo, Mandolin, Vocals * Gábor Fazekas – Guitars, Vocals * Péter Németh – Bass * Ákos Nagy – Drums *

Buy Empire of Sand  Bandcamp  Deezer  Apple Music  

Contact The Crazy Rogues  Facebook  SoundCloud  YouTube  Instagram

NEW SINGER, NEW SINGLE, NEW ERA FOR FIRKIN

Firkin ‘the crazy Irish band’ from Hungary have some important changes afoot. Read on and introduce yourself to their new frontman!

While it is always sad to hear that a band is losing members that sadness is always lessened when it is followed with news that the band will go on. Andy the vocalist from Hungarian giants Firkin has decided his time is up for the band. Nearly six years of commuting from his home in Serbia for gigs and practises has understandably become too much on top of his full time acting work and family commitments. The guys all remain good friends and he will always be a dear member of the Firkin Family!

“We are immensely thankful for his hard work over the years, the always cheerful atmosphere in the rehearsal room, in the tour van and on stage, too, the many songs we wrote and the nearly 250,000 km we travelled together across Europe”.

So life goes on and we welcome Ákos into Andy’s big shoes. A friend of the band for many years his band Zágba Cat even supporting Firkin in the past on occasion. This may not be the first time Firkin have changed singers but the spirit of the band outlasts the individual members and a whole new era begins and with a rather aptly named opening song as well.

(We are) still alive!

When the morning sun rises
high above the hills
The stars shyly hide from
the shining of the creek

The chime of the bells
is the beat of my heart
The scent of the spring brings
Me a fresh star

O-a-hey O-a-hay We are still alive!
O-a-hey O-a-hay We’re dancing through the night
O-a-hey O-a-hay We are still alive!
Hey-hey-hey-hey

The silence of the field
is trampled by the herd
Return from south again

All our chirping birds
Buds gently burst
in the heat of the sun
Summer memories
I ain’t complain ‘bout none

O-a-hey O-a-hay We are still alive!
O-a-hey O-a-hay We’re dancing through the night
O-a-hey O-a-hay We are still alive!
Hey-hey-hey-hey

Spring’s at long last here
The village comes to life
The muddy road is dry
We gather every night

The evenings are still cold
We have no other chance
Tap a barrel in a jiffy
And let’s dance!

O-a-hey O-a-hay We are still alive!
O-a-hey O-a-hay We’re dancing through the night
O-a-hey O-a-hay We are still alive!
Hey-hey-hey-hey

Oh, the winter was so long
The rust ate the blades
The horse is skinny, too
The glory’s long been frayed
All that has remained
Just mem’ries from afar
They hang on my belly with
Me in the bar

O-a-hey O-a-hay We are still alive!
O-a-hey O-a-hay We’re dancing through the night
O-a-hey O-a-hay We are still alive!
Hey-hey-hey-hey

 

Contact Firkin  WebSite  Facebook   YouTube  Instagram

ALBUM REVIEW: SELFISH MURPHY- ‘After Crying’ (2019)

The band from just about the coolest place in Celtic-Punk are back!

Transylvania natives Selfish Murphy have just released their third album in as many years of mainly acoustic fantastic Irish Folk-Punk. 

Selfish Murphy may hail from Romania but that is not where their hearts lie. Like us 2nd generation Irish here in England they have somewhere else to call home! Coming from Transylvania must be as cool a place for a band to come from but the area is home to over a million ethnic Hungarians so it is for Hungary that the boys from Selfish Murphy would be pulling on the shirt for in the World Cup if they were any good!

Selfish Murphy left to right: Péter Csanád László- Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals * László Zsolt- Drums * Csiki Zoltán ‘Zaza’- Lead Vocals, Violin, Accordion * Pusztai Lehel- Flute, Tin-Whistle, Accordion, Backing Vocals * Martinka János- Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals *

The band formed in 2011 in Transylvania and were the first band in Romania to play Irish music, let alone Celtic/Irish punk rock. In 2016 the band relocated back ‘home’ to Hungary and have since then released a steady stream of albums and EP’s as well touring throughout eastern Europe. They even managed a visit to these shores to play the Gobefest festival in Manchester this time last year celebrating the music, culture, food and drink of Transylvania and the Carpathian Basin.

The last few albums from Selfish Murphy have seen a steady progression from their debut album which was majority covers to the last album which was more or less a 50/50 split between original material and auld Irish folk covers to After Crying which I’m happy to report is all original Selfish Murphy material.

Selfish Murphy left to right: Péter Csanád László- Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals * László Zsolt- Drums * Csiki Zoltán ‘Zaza’- Lead Vocals, Violin, Accordion * Pusztai Lehel- Flute, Tin-Whistle, Accordion, Backing Vocals * Martinka János- Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals *

After Crying begins with a song that sets the standard for the whole album. ‘Brave Men’ begins as a straight forward (all be it pretty damn good) fast acoustic Irish folk tune but then Péter’s electric guitar kicks in and takes it firmly into Celtic-Punk territory. Zaza’s vocals are clear while Pusztai’s flute leads the song along. Keeping the sound going for next song ‘Bone Breaker’ and its Pusztai’s tin-whistle this time that leads. Celtic-Punk bands in Europe tend to favour the sound of the flute while it hasn’t caught on here or in North America it has really grown me (thanks to Firkin) as I myself was late-coming to it’s sound. The music here is definitely rooted in traditional Irish music but that’s not to say that Selfish Murphy don’t take a detour or two and on ‘Break The Silence’ the song begins as a straight rocker of a song before they introduce folky instruments and the song ends up as a real ‘thigh slapper’! On ‘I Live My Life’ the band keep the melodies flying at you and though it’s hardly breakneck speed it’s pacey enough and certainly about right to get people up on their feet and dancing. So far they could be best compared to any longstanding Celtic-Punk band as being of the Flogging Molly wing but on ‘Dignity’ they take a more Murphys turn and one of the highlights of the album with Pusztai again getting a mention here but for his accordion playing this time. A great song with an outstanding singalong chorus. ‘Honey Money’ is a fast number with some great guitar playing and Zaza’s vocals again worth mentioning. Time for the albums title track and ‘After Crying’. A brilliant instrumental kicking off with flute and electric guitar before setting off on a rowdy Irish tune that I’m sure is a real crowd pleaser. The rest of the lads join in and a song that would have plenty Irish music fans convinced that they from the Emerald Isle itself.

On ‘Shades Of Green’ the band play a different sort of ‘traditional’ Irish music and here the sounds of the 70’s Irish Showbands and ballad bands come together. Fast and over in a flash none of the songs here hang around long and if anything are over a bit too fast and the songs could be allowed to develop a little bit longer. With eleven songs the album is only half a hour long but this certainly ensures your interest. ‘To Win Your Heart’ is more of a pop-punk song where the Murphys play a standard rock tune before the flute comes in at the end. The song is one of the best here and shows the band at their ‘rocking’ best. We have to wait till the penultimate song for a song about that most treasured of subjects in Celtic-Punk and on ‘Hangover’ the guys don’t disappoint. It’s fast and catchy and worth the wait. After Crying ends with the albums longest song ‘Back To The Stage’ and at just over four minutes it is a bit of a epic for them. A cracking song that shows the band at their best. The production here is excellent and the music is powerful and Zaza’s vocals too. A great way to go out and I’m certain will please their legions of fans both at home and abroad.

As we said Selfish Murphy headlined a stage at the Gobefest in Manchester last year and this year they are going to do it all over again. The fest goes from May 24 to the 26th and last year’s event saw 17,000 adventurous revellers put their best foot forward to try some traditional folk dancing and listen to some of the regions most popular pop stars so a local band from home playing Irish folk-punk music might not stand out as much as you would think. Góbéfest was established in 2017 to celebrate the culture and traditions of the Székely people, the name for those ethnic Hungarians living in Transylvania. A Góbé is a friendly word for a ‘crafty Székely’. Check out the Facebook event for the 3-day fest here and Selfish Murphy are playing on Saturday 25th May.

(listen to After Crying on the Bandcamp player below before you buy it!!)

Discography

Cheers- EP (2011) * One Beer Is No Beer- Acoustic EP (2012) * With Or Without Us- EP (2014) * Dirty Bang- EP (2015) * Broad Jump- EP (2016) * Another Fork In The Road (2017) * Broad Jump ReLoaded (2018) * After Crying (2019)

Buy After Crying FromTheBand  Amazon

Contact Selfish Murphy  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram  Bandcamp  Shop  YouTube

EP REVIEW: THE RUMPLED- ‘Grace O’Malley’ (2019)

Italian Celtic/Irish Rockers The Rumpled follow up last years debut album with a digital only 5-track EP. Five different stories about love.

After last weeks review of The Clan’s new 4-track EP, Quattro Giorni Fuori Porta, it’s time for another Italian Celtic-Punk to be featured and another EP as well. The Rumpled haven’t been around as long as The Clan and are in fact one of the newest of the bunch of bands that we consider make up the Italian Celtic-punk scene.

The band were formed in 2011 in the northern Italian city of Trento and began with the name Seven Deadly Folk but as is often the way with bands with so many members it’s hard to keep everyone together and with the coming and going of new and old members the band decided in 2014 to change their name to The Rumpled. Last year saw the release of their debut album Ashes & Wishes for which they also took on a mammoth tour of home that saw them play every corner of Italy. The album was a surefire hit among the Celtic-Punk community and saw the band placed in all the various Best Of’s the scenes media had to offer. In the London Celtic Punks Top Thirty of 2018 they managed a very respectable #14. Not bad at all for a debut album.

In common with bands like The Clan and Uncle Bard And The Dirty Bastards The Rumpled embrace a certain kind of Celtic-Punk sound. It’s neither the Dropkicks or the Murphys but a Celtic-Punk that is very much focused on Irish traditional music. That may sound strange as you may think that is what all Celtic-Punk is but it is in fact quite rare. Irish folk music and Irish traditional music are different things and when Punk is added to it it can sound very different.

Is love an ideal? Is it love we feel for some friends? Can love be also sad or even frightening? Can love become an addiction, a source of pain or even violence? All is answered on this EP titled as a tribute to the legendary Grace O’Malley but more on her in a moment as the disc kicks off with the raging ‘Song Of Ill Repute’, A swift accordion and fiddle led whirling dervish of a song that you can imagine couples swirling each other round a dance floor. The Irish sound is paramount here but with both feet still in Celtic-Punk. It’s kind of untraditional traditional music if you will! This is swiftly followed by a extended version of the title track ‘Grace O’Malley’. Now Grace has become quite famous in the last few years. She was born in Ireland in around 1530 and was a fearless leader over land and by sea, politician and tactician, a rebel, pirate and matriarch, and the ’most notorious woman in all the coasts of Ireland’. Although she was always famous as The Pirate Queen in Ireland and among Irish communities, notorious for their long memories ( I remember being told bed-time stories about her taking on the British Empire’s fleets as a small child) and glee at being able to rely a story in which the Irish didn’t lose to the English for a change! Her life is far too complicated to take up in a review of a single song so take the time to read up on her fascinating and inspiring story. Anyhow back to The Rumpled and the song ‘Grace O’Malley’. The song has racked up an incredible raked more than 50,000 streams in less than a month on Spotify and has been chosen for two of the most important playlists curated by the platform (New Punk Tracks & Celtic Punk).

Great lyrics, with thanks for assistance from Stephen Trollip, and Marco’s raspy tuneful voice telling the tale in English , not that that matters on first listen you’d never be able to tell his first language wasn’t English. Next up is another song that has set the internet alight and on ‘Fearless And Brave’ you may recognise the voice that is accompanying Marco and yes its the fearless Paddy O’Reilly from awesome Celtic-Punk band Paddy And The Rats. A utterly fantastic song with Paddy and Marco sharing vocals to great effect while the Celtic-Punk crosses into Ska but by hell it certainly doesn’t get much more catchy that this I tell you. The story is again dedicated to Grace O’Malley and steams along at a healthy pace that would be totally accessible to both Folk and Punk fans. On ‘Feelin’ Fine’ the song keeps up the same pace and has a ‘piratey’ feel to it with the heavy sound of the accordion while the final track ‘The Maiden’ brings down the curtain on 15-minutes of proper brilliant Celtic-Punk that will only go to further The Rumpled’s reputation.

(the full 5-track ‘Grace O’Malley’ EP by The Rumpled)

The album has been produced by Gianluca Amendolara of Black Dingo Productions (who look after any Celtic-Punk band who hits Italy through being a independent record label, booking gigs and general management) who started his many appearances on these pages as drummer with The Clan before setting sail to join Aussie bhoys The Rumjacks. He has done an incredible job here and a special mention also for our Frankie out of The Rumjacks who has taken The Rumpled under his wing and assisted them throughout their career, who appears here as ‘vocal coaching and supervisor’ which must be a first for a Glaswegian! To celebrate the release of the EP The Rumpled have set sail on another massive tour that will take in Italy, Switzerland and France and will I am sure gain them legions of new fans.

Buy Grace O’Malley  Here  Contact The Rumpled  WebSite  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube

Black Dingo Productions  WebSite  Facebook

(have a listen to their brilliant debut album below on the Soundcloud player)

LONDON CELTIC PUNKS PRESENTS THE BEST OF 2018!

Well it seems like only yesterday that I was sitting in Mannions in north London totting up the votes for the Best Album Of 2017 over a couple of pints and so here we are again. Everyone loves to give out there opinions and we are no different so for what it’s worth, here’s who we think made the best music in the celtic-punk scene over the last year. It’s been another outstanding year for the music that we all love and some truly fantastic records came out in the last twelve months. 2017 saw just about every major player in the scene release an album while in 2018 they left it to many of the lesser known bands to dominate! Remember though this is only our opinion and these thirty album’s are only the tip of the iceberg of what was released last year. Feel free to comment, slag off or dissect our lists. As a bonus we figured out how to attach a poll at the end so you can even vote on your favourite release of 2018 yourself. If it’s not listed then simply add your choice.

We don’t pretend to be the final word as that my friends is for you…

1. THE RUMJACKS- Saints Preserve Us  here

2. 1916- Far Beyond The Pale  here

3. CLAN OF CELTS- Beggars, Celts & Madmen  here

4. KRAKIN’ KELLYS- Promised Land  here

5. THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS- Green Blood  here

6. SIR REG- The Underdogs  here

7. TIR NA OG- From The Gallows  here

8. FIRKIN- We Are The Ones  here

9. THE MAHONES- Love + Death + Redemption  here

10. THE MUCKERS- One More Stout  here

11. BASTARD BEARDED IRISHMEN- Drinkin’ To The Dead  here

12. HOLD FAST- Black Irish Sons  here

13. LEXINGTON FIELD- Dreamers  here

14. THE RUMPLED- Ashes & Wishes  here

15. TAN AND SOBER GENTLEMEN- Veracity  here

16.THE KILLIGANS- Dance On Your Grave  here

17. ALTERNATIVE ULSTER- Pog Mo Thoin  here

18. PADDY AND THE RATS- Riot City Outlaws  here

19. IRISH MOUTARDE- Perdition  here

20. BASTARDS ON PARADE- Cara a Liberdade  here

21. MR. IRISH BASTARD- The Desire for Revenge  here

22. PIRATE COPY- Swashbuckle & Swagger  here

23. SINFUL MAGGIE- S/T

24. JOLLY JACKERS- Out Of The Blue  here

25. MUIRSHEEN DURKIN AND FRIENDS- 11 Pints And 3 Shots  here

26. THE CHERRY COKE$- The Answer

27. THE CLAN- Here To Stay  here

28. KINGS & BOOZERS- Still Got The Booze  here

29. FALPERRYS- Nova Abordagem  here

30. AIRS & GRACES- Voting At The Hall  here

bubbling under: MALASANERS- Footprints  here

So absolutely no surprises here at all. In fact The Rumjacks have pretty much swept the board across the Celtic-Punk scene with what we even thought was their best release since their groundbreaking debut album Gangs Of New Holland. The Bhoys are going from strength to strength and are set to go through the roof in 2019. They remain as humble as ever and downright lovely folk to know which reminds me, congrats from us all here to Frankie and LCP’er Anna on their engagement. Other notables were Sir Reg who even flew over to London to premier their new album The Underdogs before later returning to embark on a successful nationwide tour… while I was on holiday! London-Irish band Clan Of Celts, despite a few teething problems, delivered a fantastic debut album as well as, my personal favourite of the year, Belgium’s Krakin’ Kellys. A dual release of an album and a EP on the same day is a novel approach but it paid dividends for Lexington Field as they were both brilliant. Sinful Maggie have just been getting bigger and bigger all year and we expect this to continue into 2019. Three albums from the Celtic nations with two from Galicia from Falperrys and Bastards On Parade and Cornwall’s Pirate Copy. All together we have bands from twelve countries with Germany with the most placings alongside  Australia, USA, England, Belgium, Sweden, Hungary, Canada, Italy, Galicia, Cornwall and Japan.

KRAKIN’ KELLYS- Promised Land  here

I was not the only one at London Celtic Punks Towers to be abso-fecking-lutely blown away by the Krakin’ Kellys debut album. Fast and melodic skater style punk rock with bagpipes that will blow the cobwebs away off off anyone! They made quite a wave in the scene thanks to their brilliant videos so go check them out here. This section was the easiest one to award by far!

1. THE LAGAN- Let’s Do It Again

2. MEDUSA’S WAKE- Rascals & Rogues  here

2. HANDSOME YOUNG STRANGERS- The Bleeding Bridge  here

4. THE DANGEROUS FOLK- One  here

5. LEXINGTON FIELD- Modern Times  here

6. SCOTCH- Last In The Bar  here

7. TULLAMORE- Déš An Pr’i Strà, Déš An Int ál Bar  here

8. THE GRINNING BARRETTS- The St. Padraigs  here

9. IN FOR A PENNY- Sometimes Its Better To Not  here

10. THE ROYAL SPUDS- Unforgotten Lore  here

bubbling under…

MOSCHE DI VELLUTO GRIGIO- Of Pain And Glory here and RAISE MY KILT- A New Tartan  here

At one point this was heading towards being an Australian #1, #2 and #3 but at the last minute our local favourites The Lagan released Let’s Do It Again at the end of December and wrestled it away from Medusa’s Wake. Their first studio release in a hell of a long time it came out too late to trouble many of our friends ‘Best Of’ lists but their loss is our gain! Besides them and our Aussie friends the list was made up from bands from the USA, Holland, Italy and Austria which goes to show the international nature of the scene. As an aside you can get the brilliant bagpipe punk debut EP from Scotch for free by following the link to their review. For lovers of the McKenzies you’ll not be disappointed!

1. MARYS LANE- Wild Unknown  here

2. LOUIS RIVE- The Cheap Part Of Town  here

3. THE CRAICHEADS- S/T  here

4. LANKUM-  Between Earth and Sky here

5. MAN THE LIFEBOATS- Man The Lifeboats  here

6. SLIOTAR- Voyage

7. CLOVER’S REVENGE- Gotta Get O’Raggednized  here

8. BLACKBEARDS TEA PARTY- Leviathan  here

9. THE LED FARMERS- Irish Folk Out Straight

10. FINBAR FUREY- Don’t Stop This Now  here

bubbling under: THE BRANDY THIEVES- The Devil’s Wine  here

Always the hardest to do this section as our scope has become fairly wide over the years and gone beyond Celtic-Punk but Irish-American’s Marys Lane managed at once to be a record both me and my Mammy love! Even better the Cleveland based band have made it available to download for free/donation so follow the link above. Scot Louis Rive’s debut album really impressed me and was one of my most played albums of the year and The Craicheads capped a great year with a fantastic single and their lead singer Mick making the papers and the telly for saving a Mum and her babies lives (here). Good on yer Mick. It’s a privilege to know you. More local talent at #4 which ended a year where Man The Lifeboats have gone from first band on to headline shows and a mention for the amazing Finbar Furey who put a most excellent LP at the tender age of only 72.

MERSEY CELT PUNKS

We may be a wee bit biased here but last years winners take it again this year too. 2018 saw them continue to develop the site into an all-round resource for Liverpudlians and further afield. Yeah these guys are always blowing our trumpet we know and we have shared a good few scoops with them, and will again not long after this is published, but we enjoy what they write and it’s all done with an enthusiasm that us auld hacks are constantly jealous of. Plus you are not a major player in the Celtic-Punk scene unless you had your picture took with Elliot! You can also join in their fun and games on their Twitter and Facebook and their Web-Zine. Be sure to subscribe.

So there you go. Remember we don’t pretend to be the final word on things in fact if you check the other celtic-punk media I’m sure we’ve all come up with relatively different lists. Our Best Of’s are cajoled and bullied out of the admins from the London Celtic Punks Facebook page. The assorted scraps of paper and beer mats were then tallied up please remember not all of us heard the same albums so like all the various Best Of’s ours is also subjective.

This is our 6th year of us making these lists so if you would like to check out out who was where in our previous Best Of’s then just click on the link below the relevant year.

https://wp.me/p3Huvn-es

https://wp.me/p3Huvn-Oq

https://goo.gl/RXNtMC

https://wp.me/p3Huvn-21o

https://wp.me/p3Huvn-29L

We are not alone in doing these Best Of lists in fact all the major players in celtic-punk do them so click below to check out what they thought.

THE CELTIC PUNKCAST

CELTIC FOLK PUNK AND MORE

FOLK’N’ROCK

PADDYROCK

MERSEY CELT PUNKS

MacSLONS IRISH RADIO

Now here’s a new feature. Pick your own favourite below! The Poll will end on the final day of the month!

remember any views, comments or abuse or slander we would love to hear it…

 Sláinte, The London Celtic Punks Crew- January, 2019

ALBUM REVIEW: SELFISH MURPHY- ‘Broad Jump. Reloaded’ (2018)

Irish Punk, Speed Folk from Hungary !

Now I cannot imagine there is many better places for a band, especially a Celtic-Punk band, to come from than Transylvania. Forever immortalised in Western culture as the home of Count Dracula by the Dublin born writer Bram Stoker in his Gothic horror novel published in 1897. The region in Romania is bordered by the Carpathian mountains and is roughly three times the size of Wales. The name,  Transylvania, translates as ‘the land beyond the forest’ in Latin and as the name suggests it has rich and diverse history that takes in the Celts, Dacia, the Roman Empire, the Hun Empire, the Gepid Kingdom and the Bulgarian Empire among others. Not bad for a place that most people think was a figment of an Irishman’s imagination! Besides Romanians the region is home to large pockets of ethnic Hungarians, Saxons and Roma and it is to the local Hungarian community (numbering well over a million) that Selfish Murphy hail from. So in a way they another in a long long line of fantastic Hungarian Celtic-Punk groups.

Founded in 2011 in Sepsiszentgyörgy they are Transylvania’s as well as Romania’s only Irish band, let alone Celtic-Punk band. Formed by Martinka, the band bassist played for many years in a famous Hungarian Irish band, and on return to Transylvania he decided to set up Selfish Murphy. Until then no one had played Irish music but the popularity of bands like The Pogues, the Dropkicks and Flogging Molly had caught on and, as in many other countries across the world, folk didn’t want to wait for the yearly visit, if they were lucky, from one of the scenes heavyweights they wanted their own band and so Selfish Murphy were born and in the words of Martinka

“To sum up: the band can be traced by:  Cheerful songs + Beer + Party = Selfish Murphy”.

To date the band have release a whole bunch of EP’s and their full length album Another Fork In The Road arrived on the scene last year. Broad Jump- Reloaded is basically their 2016 EP re-recorded and released with a bunch of new songs. Where Another Fork In The Road was mostly original compositions here the album is largely popular traditional Irish and Scottish folk covers.

Selfish Murphy left to right: Péter Csanád László- Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals *  László Zsolt- Drums * Csiki Zoltán ‘Zaza’- Lead Vocals, Violin, Accordion * Pusztai Lehel- Flute, Tin-Whistle, Accordion, Backing Vocals  * Martinka János- Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals *

The album begins with Nan’s favourite ‘Molly Malone’ and is a lively and jolly rendition that brings in throbbing bass and thrashy guitars but still firmly has its feet in folk music. As is common with a lot of other Hungarian bands Selfish Murphy make great use of the flute and Pusztai’s playing is impeccable. On lead vocals is Zaza, as well as accordion, and his voice is clear and the lyrics mostly in English and very easy to understand. They breathe new life into this song and it has more than enough punk for the punks and folk for the auld folkies too.

(A short live set from Selfish Murphy beginning with ‘Molly Malone’ recorded live earlier this year at the 15th Hunsrück Highlander Festival in May)

As stated earlier its not all covers and on the next two songs the band stretch their song writing talents starting with ‘Barleycorn’ and I’m glad to hear the Bhoys sing in their native language. I understand that a band feels like they have to sing in English to get any recognition in the scene but we like it when bands sing in their own language after all the Celtic nations had their’s banned and forbidden so that today most speak a foreign language, English, in their own lands so respect to Selfish Murphy for that. The song is fast and catchy and the guitar nicely mixed so that even though Péter thrashes away it doesn’t take over but I’m sure when playing live they turn it up a bit more! On ‘Touch the Sky’ they go pop-punk with the flute and accordion flowing nicely. Another classic song next with ‘Leaving Of Liverpool’ and as with ‘Molly Malone’ they give us a great version of one of Ireland’s most treasured crowd pleasers. Played with gusto and spirit(s!) they make a great job of it and again breathe new life into a song before I wouldn’t have worried if I ever heard again! A couple more original songs with ‘Scottish Song’ Selfish Murphy they come up with one of the album’s highlights. I was never taken much with the flute in Celtic-Punk until I was lucky to see fellow Hungarians Firkin over here on these shores and fell in love with the instrument then thanks to PJ and his amazing showmanship. It seems to suit the Flogging Molly/trad folk side of Celtic-Punk a lot so is well suited to Selfish Murphy and their style. Having been to Scotland another original composition follows with ‘Ireland’s So Far Away’ and its the album standout track for me. At times both gentle and hard it sits nicely between both wings of the scene and shows Zaza can even sing a bit too.

Broad Jump ends with a run of classic Irish folk tunes all made famous by a combination of The Dubliners or The Pogues and in couple of cases both together. Starting with ‘All For Me Grog’ its an upbeat song despite the songs words which tell of a man selling everything he owns, including his wife, to pay for his rum and tobacco. Though telling of a mans ruin the song is a joyous romp and the chorus is made to be shouted from the bottom of yer lungs as loud as possible. ‘Spanish Lady’ is  on of my favourites of these type of song and the song, dating from the 17th century, is perfect to be punked up a bit. What a tune.

Next up possibly the best Irish ‘pub’ song of all time- ‘The Irish Rover’ of course. Belted out at every pub sing-song in the last few decades it’s a song about a dog and a ship or something. No one is quite sure who wrote the song but whoever it was they have lost out on a fortune. Competition for ‘The Irish Rover’ as best pub song ever comes from penultimate song and Irish sports fan favourite ‘The Fields of Athenry’. Often thought of an old song it was in fact written in the 1970’s by Irish singer-songwriter Pete St. John and tells of the transportation of a young Irish rebel to Botany Bay, Australia, for stealing food for his starving family during An Gorta Mór, (the Great Irish Hunger) during 1845–1850. Selfish Murphy play it straight with as solid a version as you’ll hear and the energy is up to max and the rendition is infectious. Broad Jump comes to an end with the ultimate in Celtic-Punk covers and if I’ve heard ‘I’ll Tell Me Ma’ once I’ve heard it a thousand times but so fecking what. Its a brilliant song and well suited to be speeded up with a singalong chorus and catchy as hell beat and again its done more than justice here. The Bhoys have a bit of fun to bring the curtain down and only go to show how well they have mastered Irish music.

So eleven songs and thirty-five minutes and an album that is mostly covers that you will be very familiar with but it’s well worth getting hold of thanks to their own original songs. If you would prefer to hear their won material then I recommend obtaining their album. Packed with energy and passion but beware its contagious and will have you singing and jigging along to songs new and old ones you thought you were tired of ever hearing again. Selfish Murphy visited these shore earlier in the year to headline Góbéfest, the UK’s only Transylvanian festival of arts and culture in Manchester. Though we couldn’t make it a few of our northern readers did and reported their brought they house down so here’s hoping they make it again and a bit further south this time. In fact I’m surprised one person can remember anything at all so fond was he of pálinka, the traditional local spirit from the Carpathian region that he didn’t remember much else!

Discography

Cheers- EP (2011) * One Beer Is No Beer- Acoustic EP (2012) * With Or Without Us- EP (2014) * Dirty Bang- EP (2015) * Broad Jump- EP (2016) * Another Fork In The Road (2017) * Broad Jump ReLoaded (2018)

Buy Broad Jump. Reloaded

FromTheBand  Amazon

Contact Selfish Murphy

WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

HUNGARIAN CELTIC-PUNK WEEK PART 4. THE WHO’S WHO TOP TEN!

So hopefully by now you will have equipped yourselves with at least three bands from the Hungarian Celtic Punk scene over the last few days so what better excuse than to give you a Top Ten of the best bands in that wonderful scene. They range from traditional Irish to folk-rock to full on punk but each band contributes to the scene without copying another and that is what makes the Celtic-Punk scene in Hungary so great. Some of the bands have overlap of members and it’s even possible by now that some have disbanded but these are the bands that have given Hungary such a great reputation among the worlds Celtic-Punks! Feast your ears on these lot!

PADDY AND THE RATS

Formed 2008 * From Miskolc * Buy Rat’s On Board

Facebook  Twitter  YouTube  LastFM  MySpace  Spotify  Google+

FIRKIN

Formed 2008 * From Budapest * Buy Finger In The Pie

WebSite  Facebook  Twitter  YouTube  Soundcloud

JOLLY JACKERS

Formed 2013 * From from Dunaújváros * Buy

Facebook Bandcamp YouTube Deezer Spotify

THE SCARLET

Formed 2012 * From Budapest * Buy Midnight Avenue (here)

Facebook  WebSite  YouTube  Twitter  Soundcloud

THE CRAZY ROGUES

Formed 2012 * From Veszprém * Buy Rebels’ Shanties (here)

Facebook  Bandcamp  Soundcloud  Instagram  YouTube

THE O’NEILLS

Formed 2013 * From Budapest * Buy Chapter One (here)

Facebook  YouTube

LOCH NESZ

Formed 2010 * From Budapest * Buy Leave The Captain Behind (here)

WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Soundcloud

MAD MAN’S CREW

Formed 2015 * From Veszprém * Buy Riot Without Weapons (here)

YouTube Facebook

COLLEEN

Formed 2014 * From Budapest * Last I heard they had changed their name to Kolorful

Facebook  YouTube

PUNK WHISKEY

Formed 2011 * From Budapest * Buy Delirious (here)

WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Soundcloud

If you are interested in finding out more about the great celtic-punk scene in Hungary (and you better be) the best place to visit is the ‘Celtic Punk/ Irish Folk Hungary’ group on Facebook here

STOP-PRESS in the following weeks after we published this article yet another Hungarian Celtic-Punk band appeared on the horizon so we thought we would add them in at the end here. So here’s one more. The more’s the merrier!

HIGHLAND BASTARDS

Formed 2016 * From Ózd * Buy Lost At Sea (here)

Facebook  YouTube

HUNGARIAN CELTIC-PUNK WEEK. ALBUM REVIEW #3: JOLLY JACKERS- ‘Out Of The Blue’ (2018)

The last of our album reviews of Celtic-Punk bands from Hungary is the third studio release from one of the scene’s newest bands, Budapest’s Jolly Jackers.

So after the two big hitters of the Hungarian Celtic-Punk scene, Firkin and Paddy And The Rats, were featured these last few days it’s time for one of the lesser known bands and it’s a band that are clearly set for great things in the future. Out Of The Blue is the bands fourth release and sees them take their place alongside the aforementioned big hitters.

Jolly Jackers left to right: Andrea Boncz – Flute/Tin Whistle/Vocals * Enikő Papp: Bass Guitar/Vocals * István Sztivi Faragó: Main Vocals/Guitar * Márk Fenyves: Lead Guitar * Noémi Szentimrei: Violin * Viktor Szepesi: Drums, Percussion

Jolly Jackers are a six piece band that hail from Dunaújváros a working class city in central Hungary famed for its steel production. They formed on New Years Day 2013 and their debut release was the superb five track EP Call The Captain which came out for St Patrick’s Day 2014 and is available for free download at the link below.

They followed this up with their debut album Sobriety in January 2015 which again was mostly penned by the band themselves. Sobriety made the Top Twenty of the London Celtic Punks album of the year (here) back in 2015 with its fast paced original brand of celtic-punk going down a storm. Again Jolly Jackers have made it available for free download so again follow the link below to get your free copy.

Their third release was last year’s eight track album Blood, Sweat And Beer which again hit the streets in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Both their albums so far had sailed it at twenty-six minutes so if you like your Celtic-Punk in short and snappy blasts then Jolly Jackers ARE the band for you. Once again it made our end of year Best Of list (here) and came in a very respectable #22 in a year when every big band in the scene released album’s.

So there you are. Plenty of free music for you to whet your appetite for their new release. Breaking with tradition Out Of The Blue came out at the end of April and seals their place as one of the best bands in Hungary. Clearly inspired by both the giants of the scene at home as well as the international greats

The album begins with the creepily beautiful ‘Blue’ a short half minuter that could come straight out of a Halloween movie but luckily we are back on sounder ground as it soon morphs into ‘Billy the Crook’ and the sound of Hungarian Celtic-Punk fills your ear-holes. The sound is immaculate with Sztivi’s vocals clear as a bell and his English perfect as well and as Jolly Jackers are a story telling band that’s good. The other thing I picked up on straight away was the use of the flute and Rea’s playing was faultless. It’s not an instrument you usually hear within Celtic-Punk but in Europe, especially in Hungary it would seem, it has become an integral part of the band. They follow this up with ‘Rich, Famous & Cool’ and it’s a nod to pop-punk with its lyrics about a musician setting off to become famous but when his partner becomes pregnant he has to sell his guitar.

“I’ve got no longer plans
I’m not rich, famous or cool
But guess what: I’m happy
’Cause I found my place in the world
My place in the world”

A wonderfully positive message and the uplifting music that combines short snappy distorted guitar with fiddle. In a somewhat crowded music scene in their home country it must have been tempting to try a shortcut and emulate one of the more famous bands but that is not Jolly Jackers way and they have managed to come up with a very original take on Celtic-Punk. They add in some trademark jolly-ness next with the catchy foot-tapper ‘See You at The Sea’. A jaunty song that while gentle does sit well in amongst the harder edged songs. They stretch out their influences further with ‘Chameleon’. Beginning with acoustic guitar and Sztivi’s it has a real country edge to it before half way through the song kicks in and they turn it into an anthemic Celtic-Punk rocker. At just over four minutes it’s the albums longest tracks and towards the end the band go to town and thrash it out. I would love to hear this at the end of the night it would bring the house down! They follow this with ‘War’ and heavy guitar and flute dominate the song. Within the song are several fiddle solo’s and changes in tempo that really give it something. My favourite song here.

“Freedom is not about blood in the grass
Not about children without their parents
It’s not about death it is not about gore
You say it’s for freedom, but it’s all about war”

Jolly Jackers turn the mood up for ‘Dancing Shoes’ and it’s a short folksy twee number played fast and with spirit while ‘Lies’ brings out the Celtic-Punk guns in a song about no friends of ours, politicians!

‘Deaf And Dumb’ continues with much the same with the band experimenting with electric guitar and fiddle solo’s and a heavier punk sound then the rest of the album. We are coming towards the end of Out Of The Blue and ‘Demons And Angels’ is the nicely told story of a soldier dreaming of his wife while on the front line. The tune is also a simply played Celtic number but with solid punk backing. They keep the first big surprise till the end and ‘Until We Meet Again’ is beautifully sung traditional Celtic number. Absolutely stunning. The album ends with the instrumental ‘Surprise’ and sure they couldn’t have picked a better song title with its lounge lizard jazzy electric guitar joined half way in by Noémi on fiddle. A very unusual way to bring the curtain down and i’m surprised to hear myself saying that yeah it fitted in exactly right.

From the album’s cover to the music inside it this is an unusual album. The sleeves colourful cartoon of the band members made me realise that most Celtic-Punk imagery is a bit dark and often stacked with meaning so Jolly Jackers attempt to bring a bit of light into things is very much welcome. Out Of The Blue indeed. They have kept the folk melodies of their previous releases but the punkier elements seem toned down but without losing any of their wild abandon. Not prepared to stick to the script it was nice to find Jolly Jackers willing to take chances and even better that they managed to pull them off. Here is an energetic band with great tunes and an ability to write their own songs that seems to me to be in transition. As the saying goes their is plenty here for everyone to enjoy all of it Jolly Jackers very own.

(have a free sneaky listen to the whole of Out Of The Blue for free before you buy it by pressing play on the Bandcamp player below)

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Don’t forget to check back in a couple of days for our final part of Hungarian Celtic-Punk Week.

If you are interested in finding out more about the great celtic-punk scene in Hungary (and you better be) the best place to visit is the ‘Celtic Punk/ Irish Folk Hungary’ group on Facebook here

HUNGARIAN CELTIC-PUNK WEEK. ALBUM REVIEW #2: PADDY AND THE RATS- ‘Riot City Outlaws’ (2018)

Hungarian Celtic-Punk week continues with another huge band from the scene. Paddy And The Rats serve up a pirate party with a heavy dose of polka, punk and folk bringing the Irish pub straight into your merry home! 

So we move onto Album #2 of our Hungarian Celtic-Punk Week (be sure to check out #1 here) and it’s another band who are massive both and home and abroad. Paddy And The Rats are possibly the best known of all the Hungarian celtic-punk bands and deservedly so. Hard work and constant touring have paid dividends for the band and these days they are known throughout Europe for their superb records and great live shows. Riot City Outlaws is their fifth studio album following ‘Rats On Board’, ‘Hymns For Bastards’, ‘Tales From The Docks’ and ‘Lonely Hearts Boulevard’. Formed in 2008 with a love of Irish music, pirates and punk rock they have been going strong and getting stronger ever since. The original celtic-punk sound from their first four albums saw them change track somewhat on their last album but we did note that

“No harm in that. Its called progression and I’d rather they did that than just stick to playing ‘The Wild Rover’ for evermore.”

and it couldn’t be more true. A band can stand still and play the same album year in year out but that is not what Paddy And The Rats are about and thank the Heavens. As they say themselves

“Well, it`s one thing to dream about being Irish”

but this Miskolc-based six piece decided to throw a hefty dose of pirate-isms, polka and gypsy punk onto the Celtic mix!

Tales From The Docks (2012)

Hymns For Bastards (2011)

Rats On Board (2009)

Riot City Outlaws launches with ‘Aerolites’ and one of the albums stand out tracks straight away. Beginning with piano, acoustic guitar and Paddy’s great rock vocals it soon picks up pace and becomes a catchy feelgood Celtic rocker that’s guaranteed to get you on your feet.

The Bhoys follow this up with another classic song the accordion led ‘Join the Riot’. Like the opening track it switches melody from calm and collected to wild and manic whilst still keeping the feelgood factor. Accompanied by one of their famously excellent videos Paddy And The Rats nail their colours to the mast both figuratively and literally. Another song bound to get the audience beating up the floor at live gigs.

The Rats have always added a healthy dose of pirate to their Celtic-Punk and it’s always worked well for them, especially as pirate-punk/metal has always been seen as more a joke or parody thing. Obviously their roots as a folk-punk band must help and on ‘Black Sails’ those roots shine through with an accordion led track that also hits the heights that is both hard and heavy and ‘pop-punky’ at times. Paddy’s vocals shine throughout the entire album and are both crystal clear and very easy to understand. Having signed to Napalm Records in the summer the powerful production by Grammy award winning producer Cameron Webb, famous for his work with the likes of Motörhead, Megadeth and Social Distortion, lends itself well to Paddy And The Rats with their loud massive choruses and bombastic big tunes. ‘The Way We Wanna Go’ is one such tune with banjo, mandolin, fiddle all fighting each other in a mighty tune. If there is one song here that maybe ventures into parody its ‘Sail Away’ with its drunken bar scene opening and then a rollicking folk-punk tune taking over before ending with a fantastic punk rock/fiddle jig. These are the kind of songs that would go down equally as well in a small hovel of a pub or a stadium full  of adoring fans and Paddy And The Rats are use to both. ‘Blow’ is accordion led along with tin-whistle and chugging guitars it takes a different approach with a really (and a mean really) cool pop-punk sound in the vein of Green Day or Pennywise. they follow this with what passes for a ballad on this album and ‘Castaway’ may be slow (ish) but it’s certainly not dull and is as loud and as brash as the fastest song here. Accompanied by another great video it would be well worth your time to put the kettle on, grab a packet of biscuits, take a hour of your life and clicking on their You Tube channel. A lot of thought and attention has gone into them.

The ocean is the theme of the next couple of songs and both ‘One Last Ale’ and ‘Where Red Paints The Ocean’ are brilliant Celtic/Pirate rockers. Tuneful, catchy anthemic songs that again manage to be both hard and gentle with Paddy showing his vocal range from both hard and gentle as well.

We are steering towards shore and time for another ballad in ‘Another Life’. They know their way round a good song and are equally at home playing anything from Pirate metal to folksy ballads like this with everything rock based inbetween. A great way to slow things down and ‘Bound by Blood’ begins sounding like another ballad before kicking off into the stratosphere and thrashy guitars and another song in the vein of the earlier ‘Blow’. Coming across like the bastard Irish born offspring of The Offspring and The Beach Boys it’s as catchy as it gets. The familiar story of the morning after is taken up next with ‘I Won’t Drink Again’ with acoustic guitar and tin whistle leading the way before turning into a song the Dropkick Murphys haven’t written in years sadly. A happy-go-lucky tune that’s a real foot tapper. The end of the official album comes with ‘Children of the Night’ and needless to say (but say it I will!) it’s an absolute stormer of a song.

The video above may not be exactly the greatest you will ever watch but it again perfectly shows the relationship between Paddy And The Rats and their fans. Paddy before the song starts speaking from the heart but in Hungarian so thanks to Ábel for translating and giving us an insight into the song we wouldn’t otherwise have had.

“My son was born 1,5 years ago and that moment changed my life forever. I was started to think differently and that I wrote that song mostly because he came to the world. I believe there is a very important thing to pay attention to every children. These tiny ‘creatures’ are our future for sure, but in many cases the politicians don’t notice that and they sacrifice them or they parents for the sake of the power, so they remain alone. We think that is so horrible to grow up in this world without parents, who are driving you on your way, and even worse to let them alone. That’s why we wrote that song.”

On an album of high points again Paddy And The Rats do it with a song that contains every element that makes Paddy And The Rats so enjoyable. The bagpipes and fiddle are loud and proud on my favourite song form the album. A real Celtic-Punk classic. So there we have the end of the official album but there are two bonus tracks added that deserve a mention the Irishy ‘Raging Bull’ and celtic pop-punk ‘Summer Girls’. Both great songs that I’m puzzled are tacked on at the end not that I’m not glad they are.

Riot City Outlaws is a real return to form from Paddy And The Rats and when you hear music like this it fills you with its infectious energy and simple happiness. Dark tales make perfect subject matter for Celtic-Punk and theirs loads here wrapped up with them catchy choruses and dynamic up-tempo songs. paddy And The Rats may have returned to their roots here but they are standing still and on hearing this neither will you!

(hear selected songs from Riot City Outlaws on the Bandcamp player below)

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Don’t forget to check back in a couple of days for Part 3 and the final part of Hungarian Celtic-Punk Week. Part 1 here

If you are interested in finding out more about the great celtic-punk scene in Hungary (and you better be) the best place to visit is the ‘Celtic Punk/ Irish Folk Hungary’ group on Facebook here

HUNGARIAN CELTIC-PUNK WEEK. ALBUM REVIEW #1: FIRKIN- ‘We Are The Ones’ (2018)

Kicking off a week celebrating Hungarian Celtic-Punk we have the new album from Grammy Award-winning Budapest Irish band Firkin. Having played well over six hundred concerts in seventeen countries and it’s no wonder as they are without doubt one of the best live bands on the continent.

When you think of Celtic-Punk the first countries you would think of would be the ones that the Celtic diaspora fled to in times of despair and poverty and oppression. Well maybe that was then but these days Celtic-Punk is a truly international phenomenon and of all the countries outside of the traditional homes of Celtic-Punk no country has embraced the music quite like Hungary has. I’d be hear all day if I was to list all the bands on the scene over there but rest assured that we in England would be jealous of to have but half of them! Why exactly Hungarians have embraced the music to their hearts and ears I do not know. Maybe one of Hungarian friends can let us know. For the following week we are running a special Hungarian Celtic-Punk Week with three of the scene’s best bands all releasing albums then it makes sense to follow up last years (see 2017 here) Hungarian Celtic-Punk week with another one. So stay tuned and visit again in the week for #2 and #3.

2012

2013

One of the things that makes the scene there so special is the bands have all found their own niche within it and the music ranges from full on traditional folk to fast and heavy hardcore punk but today we feature one of the most prominent and internationally well known- Firkin. Formed in 2008 in the Hungarian capital of Budapest by flutist PJ, Firkin have released a whole bunch of albums and toured numerous times including playing an absolutely stunning one-off show in London on New Years Eve 2015. The gig drew in equal numbers of Hungarian ex-pats and London celtic punks that raised the bloody roof off the Dublin Castle! Certainly if putting in the hard work gets you the glory then Firkin have been working overtime to get the attention they deserve. The bands original vocalist Barna left the band amicably after recording the album Finger In The Pie in 2014 but new vocalist Andy has stepped ably into his shoes and Firkin have carried on without pause or even catching breath! Firkin have played more than 600 concerts in 16 countries and not just in Europe having toured Canada in 2011. Their debut album, Firkinful Of Beer, hit the streets in May, 2009 and within a year had gone gold. Soon after the album was nominated for a Hungarian Grammy Award, Fonogram 2010, which was followed by two further nominations in 2013 for their third album Igyunk Pálinkát! and in 2014 with their fourth album Keep On Firkin. In 2016 Firkin’s song ‘Focimese’ became the official song of the Hungarian football team for the UEFA Championships which saw Hungary storm the opening group stages before being hammered, like Ireland were, by Belguim in the knock-out round. Last year saw them grace the stage at many of Europe’s leading festivals which brings us up to date with the release of We Are The Ones which will be followed by a huge European headline tour in the Summer.

We Are The Ones is Firkin’s sixth studio album and they continue their quest to take over Europe by introducing the uninitiated to quality Irish-punk rock! Beginning with ‘All Is Well’ and its a fast start from the very first beat and Andy’s great vocals fit right in. The music flits between Springsteen heartfelt rocker and the Irish punk of their early days. ‘One More Pint’ is a tale of life passing you by but there always time for one more pint. Again Andy’s vocals sit nicely. Tuneful and shouty at the same time and in absolutely crystal clear English too! Firkin have always handled a nice ballad well and just as you think ‘Those Irish Punk Girls’ is it it flies off into fast as feck Irish punk with fiddle and flute literally leaving a stream of smoke behind them. As good a song on the album as any and a real blast from Firkin’s past. Another standout track follows with the album’s title song ‘We Are The Ones’.

A great gang chorus of “OH-H-H-H-H’s” in a song where Firkin pay tribute to their fans. Catchy as hell and will grow to be a real fan favourite I am sure.

“We are the ones who will go insane,

go mad when we are in pain.

We are the ones who might be exiled,

we’ll feel at home and smile”

Next up is ‘Lily Of The West’ and believe it or not a song that I could imagine leaving Christy Moore’s lips this one. An old song and not your typical cover version it has a real authentic Irish feel to it with the music at times bordering on trad as well as country. One for your Ma’s this one. Now its ‘Your Odyssey’ and I can’t imagine Christy singing this one! Proper Celtic-Punk with thrashy guitars maybe a little understated but still giving the song plenty of oompf. I was never a fan of the flute to be honest. That was until I saw Firkin live in concert and I was immediately converted. PJ is such an amazing musician and has an incredible stage presence that its hard to stand in awe of Firkin when they let fly. We are back in the pun now with ‘Hold My Beer’ and like a lot of bands Firkin make music to be enjoyed with a jar or two and I’m reliably informed that Hungarians like their beer so a band named after a beer measure ought to have a couple of alcohol friendly songs at least!

As we head towards the end of the album and it’s time for Firkin to dust off a few covers which they begin with the famous Dubliners trad song ‘Nancy Whisky’. A perfect song for Celtic-Punk bands to cover and Firkin serve up a great version and follow this up with perhaps the greatest (and saddest) song ever written about Irish emigration, ‘Spancil Hill’. A real tear-jerker this one and again delivered with style and given an upbeat treatment. Time for an original and Firkin have always dipped their toes into folk-metal while never quite getting their heads wet and ‘Awaken The Iron’ is as far as they venture on We Are The Ones. A great metal-folk-punk song with Andy never sounding more like a pirate in his life.

“Show a leg!

Pirates aboard! Prepare your swords

Pull out the guns and shoot a full load

Release your wrath ‘n aim the mainmast

Fight for the glory till the last breath

Remember the days, the years we fought together

Steered between waves through days and nights

This is the moment we all been living for

Awaken the iron, rats quake in their boots”

The albums fastest song gives way to ‘Galway Girl’ and this song I am sure is played hundreds of times every night on every continent on the planet and I am sure Steve Earle never imagined the hit he had had on his hands but the song is now up there at the very top of popular Irish songs. Nevertheless Firkin don’t do sloppy covers and they stamp the Firkin brand on it and mange the seemingly impossible to make it their own. We Are The Ones comes to an end with the beautiful Irish trad number ‘Flowers’ featuring the absolutely stunning voice of Hungarian folk singer Agi Szaloki. Originally called ‘The Flower Of Magherally’ it dates from 1928 and was most famously covered by Altan.

“I met my love near Banbridge Town,

My charming blooming Sally, O

And she is the crown of County Down,

The Flower of Magherally, O”

Andy shows he can really sing and what a pair of lungs he has as together they belt out a real folkie number that brings down the curtain perfectly.

So another classic Firkin album ends and with twelve songs and seven originals it’s a good balance of their own material and covers too while it steams along at such a nice pace I was surprised it was forty minutes long as it seemed to be over far too quickly. The auld Irish influence may have subsided a wee bit in favour of more typical Celtic sound but theirs no denying that Firkin are at the top of the tree when it comes to Celtic-Punk on this fair continent and long may they continue and they surely will if they continue to put out such great material.

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( A whole Firkin concert from 10th June, 2017 – Open-Air Theatre Budapest)

Don’t forget to check back in a couple of days for the rest of Hungarian Celtic-Punk Week. Part 2 here

Don’t forget to check back in a couple of days for Part 2 of Hungarian Celtic-Punk Week. If you are interested in finding out more about the great celtic-punk scene in Hungary (and you better be) the best place to visit is the ‘Celtic Punk/ Irish Folk Hungary’ group on Facebook here

LONDON CELTIC PUNKS PRESENTS THE BEST OF 2017!

Yes I know it only seems like five minutes since the last one but it’s that time of year again when we give you, for what it’s worth, our opinion on who made the best music in the celtic-punk scene over 2017. It’s been another outstanding year for the music that we all love and some truly fantastic records came out in the last twelve months. So read on to find out who came #1! Remember though this is only our opinion and these thirty album’s are only the tip of the iceberg of what was released last year. Feel free to comment, slag off or dissect our lists. We don’t pretend to be the final word as that my friends is for you…

1. FLATFOOT 56 (Chicago)- ‘Odd Boat’  here

2. THE TOSSERS (Chicago)- ‘Smash The Windows’  here

3. THE BIBLECODE SUNDAYS (London) – ‘Walk Like Kings’  here

4. THE PEELERS (Canada)- ‘Palace Of The Fiend’ here

5. FEROCIOUS DOG (England)- ‘Red’  here

6. BLACK WATER COUNTY (England)- ‘Taking Chances’  here

7. THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS (Germany)- ‘Sign of the Fighter’  here

8. IN FOR A PENNY (USA)- ‘One More Last Hurrah’ here

9. LES RAMONEURS DE MENHIRS (Brittany)- ‘Breizh Anok’  here

10. MATILDA’S SCOUNDRELS (England)- ‘As The Tide Turns’  here

11. KILMAINE SAINTS (USA)- ‘Whiskey Blues & Faded Tattoos’  here

12. ORTHODOX CELTS (Serbia)- ‘Many Mouths Shut’  here

13. UNCLE BARD AND THE DIRTY BASTARDS (Italy)- ‘Handmade’  here

14. THE SILK ROAD (England)- ‘S/T’ here 

15. FLOGGING MOLLY (USA)- ‘Life Is Good’  here

16. THE LUCKY PISTOLS (USA)- ‘Where The Orioles Fly’  here

17. THE REAL McKENZIES (Canada)- ‘Two Devils Will Talk’  here

18. DRUNKEN DOLLY (Netherlands)- ‘Alcoholic Rhapsody’ here

19. CASSIDY’S BREWERY (Serbia)- ‘One Brew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’  here

20. THE MOORINGS (France)- ‘Unbowed’ here

21. CRAIC (USA)- ‘Sounds Of Vandemark’  here

22. JOLLY JACKERS (Hungary)- ‘Blood Sweat and Beer’ here

23. THE SCARLET (Hungary)- ‘Hardfolk Shanties’ here

24. THE DISTILLERY RATS (Germany)- ‘Tales From County Whiskey’ here

25. CELKILT (France)- ‘Stand’ here

26. DROPKICK MURPHYS (Boston)- ’11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory’  here

27. O’HAMSTERS (Ukraine)- ‘Где бы мы ни бывали’  here

28. SONS OF O’FLAHERTY (Brittany)- ‘The Road Not Taken’  here

29. THE BABES (London)- ‘Greetings From London’  here

30. CHEERS! (Czech Republic)- ‘Daily Bread’ here

Just bubbling under:

THE TEMPLARS OF DOOM (USA), GHOSTTOWN COMPANY (Germany) McSCALLYWAG (Netherlands)

No surprise here at all as all four admins voted #1 for Flatfoot 56 and their utterly brilliant ninth album. Not only that but we also all gave second spot to The Tossers, making it a Chicago #1 and #2! The year began with news of two new Dropkick Murphys albums coming but we only got the one and it met with, well quite a muted response to be honest. Saying that they were fantastic live and they certainly added a new dimension to these new songs when played in the flesh. The list leans heavy towards the bands from these shores it has to be said but it was always going to be with bands we get to see live regularly. It’s especially fitting to see The Bible Code Sundays in there too. In a year when every ‘big’ celtic-punk band released an album the competition was great so well done to all. Keep them coming. If you are not here then it just means we didn’t all agree or even all hear it and maybe we didn’t receive it too. The amount of debut albums from loads of these bodes well for both the scene here and internationally with a great mix of bands from thirteen countries.

BLACK WATER COUNTY- ‘Taking Chances’

This was a very hard category to fill with so many new bands arriving on the celtic-punk scene this past year. Soooo many to choose from but in the end we pumped for our very own Black Water County who just pipped Cassidy’s Brewery and In For A Penny to the title!

1. BLACK ANEMONE (Sweden)- ‘In It For Life’  here

2. RAIN IN SUMMER (Indonesia)- ‘Discordant Anthem From The Gutter’  here

3. IN FOR A PENNY (USA)- ‘Every Day Should be Saint Paddy’s Day’  here

4. THE BOTTLERS (Australia)- ‘The Bottlers’  (here)

5. BLACK RAWK DOG (Indonesia)- ‘Suburban’s Folk Stories’  here

6. BogZH CELTIC CATS! (Brittany)- ‘Kazh al Lagenn’  here

7. THE CRAZY ROGUES (Hungary)- ‘Rebels’ Shanties’  here

8. THE McMINERS (Brazil)- ‘Tales of Betrayal and Deceit’  here

9. BORN AGAIN HEATHENS (USA)- ‘Born Again Heathens’  here

10. THE DEAD MAGGIES (Australia)- ‘Wild Dogs And Flannies’  here

Stand out winner here from Sweden’s Black Anemone which none of us were sure was either a big EP or a small album so we gave it the benefit of the doubt and placed it in here. Outstanding! Two representatives of Indonesia’s fantastic celtic-punk scene made up for no album releases from there last year and one band from a Celtic nation with the BogZH Celtic Cats! The Bottlers sneak in as they only sent it to us the week before Christmas. Glad they did though.

1. DECLAN O’ROURKE- ‘Chronicles Of The Great Irish Famine’  (here)

2. ShamROCKS- ‘Ye Ould Chariot’ EP  (here)

3. CRIKWATER- ‘Crikwater’  (here)

4. BEOGA- ‘Before We Change Our Mind’

5. FOLLOW THE CROWS- ‘West is East’ EP  (here)

6. PLASTIC PADDY- ‘Lucky Enough’  (here)

7. DAMIEN DEMPSEY- ‘Soulson’

8. GALLEY BEGGAR- ‘Heathen Hymns’  (here)

9. I DRAW SLOW- ‘Turn Your Face To The Sun’

10. ANTO MORRA- ‘From The Vaults’

Absolutely no question who romped home here. from the first time I ever heard Declan O’Rourke’s monumental album Chronicles Of The Great Irish Famine I was simply blown away. I simply cannot recommend it enough. Go and acquire a copy now. A mix of folk and trad makes up the rest of the list with a special mention for Ukrainian band ShamROCKS who play Irish folk as if they were naturals! We would like to feature more trad and folk on these pages in the future hopefully. Also Vince Cayo had a fecking brilliant album but was neither celtic-punk nor folk. Was tempted to make a separate list just for him!

MERSEY CELT PUNKS

This use to be the Celtic Folk Punk And More Best Celtic Punk Web-Site award so often did they use to win but last year it went to the new kid on the block, our good mates over at Mersey Celt Punks. Well we were in a bit of a quandary about who would win this week but then in the last few weeks of the year the Mersey Bhoys upped their game and won a unanimous vote. They finally started to use their Web-Site (here) and published a whole host of great reviews and things like a events/gig section. You can also join in their fun and games at Twitter and Facebook and we heartily recommend you do.

So there you go. Remember we don’t pretend to be the final word on things in fact if you check the other celtic-punk media I’m sure we’ve all come up with relatively different lists. Our Best Of’s are cajoled and bullied out of the four admins from the London Celtic Punks Facebook page. The assorted scraps of paper and beer mats were then tallied up over several pints of Guinness in Mannions. Not all of us heard the same albums so like all Best Of’s ours is subjective.

CARLTON HUNT

Of course we cannot go any further without mention of the saddest news of the year. That of the passing of Carlton , the drummer of The Bible Code Sundays. A friend of London Celtic Punks and an absolute diamond stand up guy he will be forever sadly missed by all who met him. We are grateful To Ronan for penning a few words for him.

We lost Carlton on 3rd November 2017 unexpectedly and it has left a massive hole in our family. Carlton joined The BibleCode Sundays some twelve years ago when we were still called Slainte.

His work ethic was second to none, he even dragged us into the studio to record our first CD, he did a lot of pushing in the early days and the Lord knows we needed it!

He was always the first to say yes to any gig, whether it was a small Irish pub like The Old Crown in Hayes or The Shawl or whether it was some of our bigger gigs. Over the years we played some fantastic gigs and venues, such as The Royal Albert Hall, New York’s Beacon Theatre, The House of Blues in Boston, Shepherds Bush Empire, The Roundhouse, Glasgow Barrowlands, Indigo at The O2, Glastonbury Festival, Finsbury Park, London Irish, on the pitch at Twickenham Stadium and at Celtic Park (the night Celtic beat Barcelona). We’ve played with Elvis Costello, The Dropkick Murphys, The Wolfetones, John Lydon’s Public Image Ltd, the Saw Doctors and he even got to realise a dream when we shared a stage with Thin Lizzy. They were minus legends Phil Linnot and Gary Moore but this mattered not to Carlton, his hero Brian Downey was still behind the drums. Carlton got to meet his idol and even got some Thin Lizzy drumsticks as souvenir, he was like an excited little kid that night. We did TV appearances on Sky Sports, BT Sport and even a live St Patrick’s Day performance on BBC’s The One Show.

We got to travel around on trips and tours all around the UK and Ireland as well as Germany, Italy, Spain and the USA to mention a few. This was all just topping up the stamps on his passport that he had accrued in his days with Bad Manners, Feast of Fiddles and The Melody Fakers and many more as he spent so many years on the London Irish music scene.

Not many would know that he also wrote poetry and song lyrics, they are very clever with pun-tastic wordplay and generally came out sounding like Bernard Cribbins songs with titles like ‘Breakfast Epiphanies’ or the Brighton-themed song ‘All Things Brighton Beautiful’. He used to always say

“I try to be serious but the humour always takes over”

He did, however, manage to pen two of the best songs on our latest album, he was very proud of his songs ‘Disorganised Crime’ and the beautiful ‘Clouds’. Drummers writing songs?! Whatever next?! He truly was the engine room of the band, a quiet and gentle man off stage who turned into a one man wrecking ball when he was sat behind his drum kit.

Things will never be the same without him but he would want us to and we will carry on making music and playing his songs.

Ladies and Gentlemen, on drums.. Mr Carlton Hunt

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This is the 5th year of us making these lists so if you would like to check out out who was where in our previous Best Of’s then just click on the link below the relevant year.

We are not alone in doing these Best Of lists in fact all the major players in celtic-punk do them so click below to check out what they thought.

CELTIC FOLK PUNK AND MORE

FOLK’N’ROCK

PADDYROCK

MERSEY CELT PUNKS

SHITE’n’ONIONS

MacSLONS IRISH RADIO

CELTICPUNK.PL

remember any views or comments we would love to hear them…

 Sláinte, The London Celtic Punks Crew- January, 2018

2017 REVIEW ROUND-UP’S PART TWO: EUROPE- CASSIDY’S BREWERY, GALLEY BEGGAR, MAD MAN’S CREW, YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS, THE BLACK CLOVER

Every year that we have been doing this has got better and better for celtic-punk releases. As happy as we are that this is so it also means that we just simply cannot keep up with everything out there. We haven’t had the chance to review everything we received or heard so here is Part 2 of our 2017 Round Up where we catch up with some of the releases that we missed first time round. Here at 30492- LONDON CELTIC PUNKS blog we much prefer to do really detailed reviews but there’s been no way we could keep up so here’s a few quick ones just to get 2017 out of the way. Each and every one are worthy of your time so go ahead and check them out and apologies to the band’s concerned that we had to squeeze them in. This week we concentrate on European bands while last time we visited North America (here) and next time we will review bands from the Celtic regions so join us in a few days.

CASSIDY’S BREWERY- ‘One Brew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’  (Free Download)

The lads from Cassidy’s Brewery sent me the link to their debut album just a couple of weeks ago so they sneak into our round-up’s but they are one of many featured here that I would have liked to do a full review of. They are a six-piece band hailing from Belgrade, Serbia. Formed in 2008 the current line-up has been together now for a couple of years. The band started like most European celtic-punk bands I suspect playing covers from the mainstays of celtic-punk plus local legends, in their case the awesome Orthodox Celts, before setting out with their own material. Here they give us a ten track album split 50/50 with covers and originals and while the covers are faithful punked up versions of Irish standards like ‘Raggle Taggle Gypsy’ and ‘Drunken Sailor’ it is their own songs that really shine on this album. Lyrically they are very strong with the words to album opener ‘Sail Away’ particularly sticking in my head. If you going to play celtic-punk and have no celtic roots then you need to know your history and this is where Cassidy’s Brewery come over well. With a accent that is easy to understand in fact you don’t need the lyrics as Uroš vocals are as clear as a bell throughout. Irish and Scottish history is covered and no better than on ‘Heroes’ where William Wallace and Finn MacCool go for a beer and end up meeting Prince Edward!

“We’ll slap you silly, so please come out!”
“This one’s for Culloden, and this one’s for Boyne, and this one’s for the pissy-ass stout!”

Absolutely brilliant and I love my celtic-punk with a sense of humour and Cassidy’s Brewery give it us. Musically it’s pretty damn good as well. Fiddle, tin whistle and accordion supply the folk instrumentation and the rest is yer basic punk rock quintet of two guitars, drums and bass. Its melodic punk with metally overtones but it never strays too far away from celtic-punk and they mix it up with folk songs and a superb version of ‘Rolling Down To Old Maui’ that is as good as any I have heard. It may say above that is free but that just means it is available as a ‘Name Your Price’ so it’s free if you like but if you value the celtic-punk scene and bands like Cassidy’s Brewery then stick them enough for a Guinness in there!

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GALLEY BEGGAR- ‘Heathen Hymns’  (Buy)

Here’s a band that you wouldn’t categorise as celtic-punk at all. Or folk-punk either but they certainly do have some crossover appeal to fans of London Celtic Punks I am sure. Heathen Hymns is their fourth album after  Reformation House (2010), Galley Beggar (2012) and Silence & Tears (2014) and the band have got stronger with each release. Hailing from Kent and London Galley Beggar are a band of six musicians that grew up obsessed with an old sound. You could I suppose pigeonhole them among bands like  Fairport Convention, Pentangle or Steeleye Span and while their may have been a time in my spikey haired punk rock youth I would have scoffed at that I can say that the sheer quality of their music has won me over. With their folk-rock sound quite in vogue at the moment they have been steadily building a huge fan-base and even huger reputation  and they have successfully merged the traditional folk sound of England with the psychedelic folk rock sound of the 70’s and nowhere better than on the hypnotic ‘Moon & Tide’ and its fantastic video.

Of course it’s the originals here that are the real jewels but the way they handle the covers of traditional standards ‘Let No Man Steal Your Thyme’,  first heard in 1689!, and featuring guest vocals from Celia Drummond of UK acid folk legends Trees, and ‘The Girl I Left Behind Me’ also impresses. Having recently signed to Rise Above Records they are set to kick on and move beyond their ‘festival fame’ and with bands like Ferocious Dog already on the way up its bands liken Galley Beggar who are set to join them.

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MAD MAN’S CREW- ‘Riot Without Weapons’  (Buy/Buy)

Hungary, Hungary, Hungary bloody Hungary. That’s how it seems this site goes sometimes. I won’t bore you with another list of absolutely brilliant Hungarian celtic-punk bands but will just say that I would swap all ours for theirs in a shot! Formed in June 2015 in Veszprém Mad Man’s Crew mix up a variety of styles with folk and punk colliding with ska via some rather nifty trumpet that slots in super nice. Kicking off with the brilliant ‘Leave Behind’ that takes melodic punk and throws in tin whistle and accordion and some band Oi! Oi!’s to great effect. As with Cassidy’s Brewery above the production here is superb and again the vocals are clear and Molnár is perfectly understandable. Eleven songs clocking in at forty minutes that very rarely strays from celtic-punk but when it does it explodes in your ears like a bomb going off. Fast paced punk rock with accordion is how I would best describe this. They have taken a different approach from the majority of Hungarian celtic-punk bands by concentrating more on the punk side of things though not to say the folk side is neglected it’s just that you wouldn’t automatically think of Irish folk music when you hear them. Other highlights here are the amazing ‘Anthem Of The Anarchists’ which takes all the elements and strands that make up celtic-punk and injects real life into them. I love this song so much it would make my Top Ten songs of the year!

Far as I can tell theirs no covers here but there is one song in Hungarian so maybe that’s one but a great debut album and yet another Hungarian band to go doolally about!

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YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS- ‘First Night Back in Port’  (Buy)

Hoist the Jolly Roger Ye Banished Privateers take no prisoners since launching in September 2012 and have a list of crew mates longer than yer arm with over thirty (!) members of the band and over a dozen on stage at gigs it makes for a rum do indeed. First Night Back In Port is the band/collective’s third album and is a staggering seventy-five minutes and fifteen songs of pure unabashed bastardized Irish folk an’ 17th century sea-shanty punk rock. The music takes you back to the 18th century a rough time when pirates dominated the seven seas and Ye Banished Privateers while they could easily become parody they mange to steer well clear of that thanks to great songs. At times it sounds like Tom Waits on the lash with fiddle, banjo and accordion while at others times its soft and gentle.

The album opener the emotional ‘Annabel’ is for me the best track here, a gentle introduction of a harrowing tale before plenty of opportunities galore to

“Let’s drink, let’s fight! Let’s fornicate by the harbour lights! Let’s fuck, let’s bite! Let’s dance away the night!”

leap out at you. The music is all acoustic and the vocals are shared around the band and while the music is strictly folk the spirit of punk is stamped throughout. One thing I did notice is that it is so full, with thirty members all battling for your attention, that it’s hard to pick out any elements in particular that impress. The sound is very authentic and not at all what I am use to listening to but i really enjoyed this wee time travel back to simple, honest and moving music.

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THE BLACK CLOVER- ‘From Sailor To Hobo’ EP (Buy)

Another release that sneaked in at the last minute this time from France and the debut release from a band that came from the ashes of Seagulls Are Drunk who featured on these pages a long, long time ago. The Black Clover celebrate their first anniversary with the release of this EP and again like with SAD it has a very particular French sound to it while also incorporating celtic-punk and traditional French folk music. Beginning with ‘A Road To Galway’ the song builds up and up and while not quite hitting punk rock levels it certainly rocks along and has a very catchy feel to it. Driving bass and drums and all the time fiddle and accordion keep it moving. They mix it up with ‘Black Tot Day’ a slightly jazzy sound but losing none of the celtic-punk bite and catchiness. Slowing it down for the saddest song you’ll hear today ‘The Lost Beer’, the tragic ballad of a lost love. As with Seagulls Are Drunk I thought then they had a real Tom Waits thing about them and the same here and not just because of Seb and his low and gruffled vocals. Imagine Tom fronting a celtic-punk band and you basically got it but then they go and throw out ‘La Baffe’ a Celtic/Breton bastard of a punk rocker and you realise that all four songs here are all different and then the EP ends with ‘The Sea Is Behind Me’ a beautiful ballad. Great release and bodes well for the future from a band who sound both innovative and fresh while having their roots planted firmly in the past.

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So ends Part 2 of our Round-Up’s and apologies to all the bands as each and every release deserved that full London Celtic Punks treatment. We have still probably missed some fantastic music so all the more reason to send in your stuff to us to review. We are always looking for people to join the reviews team so don’t be shy if you fancy giving it a go. If you don’t want to miss any of our posts 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.

ALBUM REVIEW: THE SCARLET- ‘Hardfolk Shanties’ (2017)

It’s been five minutes so must be time for another amazing Hungarian celtic-punk release from another amazing Hungarian celtic-punk band!

2015 was the year of the Hungarian celtic-punk band with a seemingly never ending succession of celtic-punk releases throughout the year that filled the end of year Best Of polls for not just ourselves but for all the other celtic-punk media. Well last year was a bit on the quiet side but the Hungarians are back in 2017 with a bang and already this year we have had Hungarian Celtic-Punk week when we reviewed three releases by bands old and new to the scene in Firkin, Crazy Rogues and The O’Neills plus as well as finding space for the excellent Jolly Jackers album and a new Paddy And The Rats release due any day soon its shaping up to be a repeat of two years back. The Scarlet’s singer/songwriter Dániel also plays in The O’Neills and while they are a much more traditional Irish folk band it seems he has chosen The Scarlet to take out his aggression on and their music has a much harder edge to it than previously. Which brings us to this release which came out in March (when else!) and is the debut long player from Budapest based band The Scarlet. They have previously released a Demo (available for free download from here) in late 2012 and in January, 2015 they released their first official record in Midnight Avenue. That was six tracks and twenty minutes of, mostly Dropkick Murphys style, quality celtic-punk that introduced them both to the celtic-punk scene and the world (here). A combination of pirate ‘Yo-Ho’s’ and metal guitar riffs accompanying the celtic instruments it left us itching to hear more and we were jumping for joy on the news that an album was coming out.

Now as is the case with music genre’s many overlap and while to the casual listener it may all sound the same but to those that like to label things this is probably more towards the pirate punk end of celtic-punk and maybe even celtic-metal as well.

The album kicks off with ‘Heroes of Our Future’ and even though it’s the shortest song on the album it’s still one of the high points. The Hungarians love the flute and The Scarlet are no different with Júlia’s flute competing with fiddle and metally punk electric guitar riffs. Dániel’s vocals as on that earlier EP are clear and even with his slight accent the English lyrics are easy to understand though sung in a more rock style than before.

The music has a urgent feel to it and ‘The Darker Shade of Red’ doesn’t let the pace slip while the sea theme continues with ‘We Plunder’. The heavy guitar and thundering bass, which sounds particularly good, give the song a hard feel but all the time the flute and fiddle keep it celtic. ‘Monday Morning’ is another album standout and one of the more ‘trad’ celtic-punk moments on the album. Gang vocals on the track are a nice touch and keep it interesting. We are halfway through Hardfolk Shanties and ‘Son of a Pirate’ keeps the pace up. I am a new convert to the use of flute in celtic-punk. I was never one for it but on seeing the mighty Firkin here in London on NYE 2015 I have to say I was totally won over. The Scarlet and Firkin share a lot of similarities except in sound and once again it’s pleasing that bands have managed to tread separate paths in a, sometimes, one dimensional scene.

Saying that if there was one song on the album that has a Firkin shadow looming over it then it is ‘Take the Wheel’. In a album of high points it’s not hard hard to pick out songs worthy of attention and ‘Heading to South’ is one. Great fiddle work and chugging guitar and a real catchy tune too. We coming up to the end of the album and ‘Battlefield Requiem’ keeps up the good work and another mention here for Dániel’s tortured vocals which fit perfectly with the sound the band are producing. ‘Runaway’ has a punk feel to it with that thundering bass back again and finally Hardfolk Shanties comes to an end with ‘Long Live the Dead’. The song begins folky acoustic style before moving into celtic-punk territory. Another class song and that The Scarlet can pack so much into their songs when the longest here is only just over three minutes long is remarkable.

So the album is over and you get ten songs all penned by the band themselves that comes in at literally just over half an hour long. If you like your celtic-punk a bit different then Hardfolk Shanties will be right up your street. More punk than most and with metal influences that keep it on the harder side side of things but thanks to the addictive flute and fiddle here it is firmly within the celtic-punk scene. Fiddler Dominika can be thanked for the superb pirate themed album artwork and the album was mixed by Zoltán Cs.Szabó, of the Hungarian garage rock band The Trousers, who has done a grand job and got the maximum out of The Scarlet. A great album and as already stated it sits proudly on the harder edged side of things but it is nevertheless still a fine concoction of both old time folk and more modern punk and metal. Heartily recommended ship mates!

(you can hear Hardfolk Shanties by pressing play on the Soundcloud player below)

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ALBUM REVIEW: JOLLY JACKERS- ‘Blood Sweat and Beer’ (2017)

Let’s drink whiskey!

The new album from the fantastic six piece Hungarian band Jolly Jackers playing Irish-Celtic folk punk rock.

Things are said to go in cycles and the evidence is clear. They do. If 2015 was the year of the Hungarian celtic-punk band then 2017 is going to be as well. This year we have already had Hungarian Celtic-Punk Week with reviews from Firkin, The Crazy Rogues and The O’Neills. Three great records all released within a few days of each other. Well I can safely tell you that Jolly Jackers have kept up this incredible high standard with the release of their second long player Blood, Sweat And Beer. Not only that but while I was writing this review the new album, Hardfolk Shanties, by yet another Hungarian celtic-punk band, The Scarlet, popped through the letter box so expect a review of that any day soon.

Jolly Jackers: Guitar/Vocal- István ‘Sztivi’ Faragó * Flute- Andrea Boncz Bass- Enikő Papp * Drums, Percussion- Viktor Szepesi * Lead Guitar- Márk Fenyves Violin (on Blood Sweat And Beer)- Krisztina Ujházy

Jolly Jackers are a six piece band with three lasses and three lads that hail from Dunaújváros a working class city in central Hungary famed for its steelworks, which is the largest in the country. They were only formed on New Years Day 2013 and have risen in popularity and critical acclaim every year and show no sign of letting up. Their debut release was the five track EP Call The Captain which came out just in time for St Patrick’s Day 2014 and is available for free download at the link below.

They followed this up with their debut album Sobriety in January 2015 which again was mostly penned by the band themselves. Sobriety made the Top Twenty of the London Celtic Punks album of the year (here) back in 2015 with its fast paced original brand of celtic-punk going down a storm here at LCP Towers. Again Jolly Jackers have made it available for free download so again follow the link below to get your free copy.

So where does that leave us now in April 2017. Well the Bhoys and Ghirls have been hard at work to deliver another utterly brilliant album to their adoring fans. Blood, Sweat And Beer (and what a fantastic album title!) begins with ‘Back at Home’ and the sort of celtic intro that pops up to start many celtic-punk albums but it’s done with real style here. A nice pirate song that leads nicely into the title song ‘Blood Sweat And Beer’ and it does not disappoint. Sztivi’s vocals are all sung in English and even though his accent is quite pronounced it’s still very easy to understand. A really great drinkin’n’fightin’ song with great fiddle and flute pushing it along.

‘Devil’ is up next and begins with rather nifty guitar making you think you heading off in a completely different musical direction before the band pull it back into celtic-punk territory.

“Just please don’t let the devil dance on my grave!”

As seems quite in vogue among the European celtic-punk scene they throw in a whole load of ska into ‘Drive’ and again something tells me Jolly Jackers will be heading into that Top Twenty again come the end of the year. Catchy as hell and completely original. No two songs here have sound anything alike!

The first single release from Blood, Sweat And Beer was the standout track from the entire album, ‘Hymn for the Gang’, which was accompanied by an outstanding video that perfectly captures I am sure the live experience and the energy of a Jolly Jackers live show.

“One, two, three, four, five…

SIX days passed with troubles of life oh…

One, two, three, four, five…

Six rats helping us to survive oh…

This life is better together

This gang is here forever

It’s time to clink full glass”

It’s a loving tribute to being in a band and the camaraderie you get through the trials and tribulations that happen on the road. Led throughout by tin whistle and fiddle combined with the thrashy guitars, bass and drums keeping the song on track to glory. Nearing the end of the album and its all flying past at a frantic pace with ‘John Not the Silver’ is no different. A back track of punk rock but with an unmistakable Irish tune flowing throughout it. ‘Let It Rain’ finally slows it down for the album’s longest song. As I have said countless times before even the most hardcore punk bands in the celtic-punk scene benefit from a slow song to wave your arms (and pints) in the air.

Except though Jolly Jackers take no notice of me though, fortunately, and speed it right up again! The album ends with ‘Epilogue’ and I finally at the end get that slow song I have been whining on about.

Well what can I say except its another blinder and I can report also that they haven’t slowed down any either! Twenty-six minutes was the length of Sobriety and twenty-six minutes is the length here as well. The album flows ceaselessly and leaves you only wanting more. At home in both seedy punk venues as well as massive arena’s Jolly Jackers are living proof that it’s songs that get you places as well as good old fashioned things like touring and record releases. You can play as often as you like but if you don’t master your songs then you’ll go nowhere in the long run. They are yet another in a long line, and growing rapidly, of excellent releases from Hungary. Absolutely superb and recommended to anyone who likes their celtic-punk both folky AND punky.

Get Blood, Sweat And Beer

Here or iTunes for only £3.99!!!

Contact Jolly Jackers

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and if you are on Facebook then I am afraid I have to insist you trot along right now to the ‘Celtic Punk/Irish Folk Hungary’ group page here where a warm welcome and Hungarian celtic-punk galore awaits you!

(a full concert from Jolly Jackers recorded at the Triskell Festival in Italy last summer, Not perfect sound quality but who expects that all the time?)

HUNGARIAN CELTIC PUNK WEEK! EP REVIEW: THE O’NEILLS- ‘Chapter One’ (2017)

So welcome to you to our third and final part of Hungarian Celtic Punk Week. After two fantastic celtic-punk bands in The Crazy Rogues and Firkin we calm it down a little with The O’Neills and their debut EP. We can be quite parochial in celtic-punk sometimes and tend to stick to bands we know or have heard of but there’s an absolute wealth of music out there begging to be heard and some of it may be from countries you wouldn’t expect. If the only thing this blog does is gain some of these bands a tiny bit of recognition then we are succeeding in what we set out to do. Leave your misconceptions at the door and take off your pub shoes and dip your toes into the celtic-punk scene worldwide and what better place to start off in than Hungary!

The O’Neills formed in April, 2013 and hail from the Hungarian capital city of Budapest. Where as the first two bands we featured this week both play celtic-punk that sees the folk and punk in equal measures The O’Neills are much more of a Irish folk band in the traditional sense. Formed for a one off occasion The O’Neills success led them to be asked to perform on the Irish Stage of the Sziget Festival some months later. The huge impact gave the five-piece group the bit of push they needed to become th regular session band playing traditional acoustic Irish music at Jack Doyle’s Irish Pub. After two years, they tried different pubs and bars in the inner city of Budapest, changing their gigs to an unique show each time. By January 2017 it had led them to become one of the most sought after bands in Budapest and they recorded this debut EP at the Artist Factory studio. As its title they chose ‘Chapter One’ with the band planning to release subsequent chapters annually. Here we get as Chapter One three songs of excellently played music that perfectly evokes the spirit of Ireland.

The EP begins with the Irish rebel song ‘Down By The Glenside’ and is beautifully sung by Krisztina. One of the best known and also saddest of the Irish folk song repertoire it dates back to the time of the 1916 Easter Rising. Written by Peadar Kearney, an Irish Republican and composer who also wrote numerous other rebel songs, including ‘The Soldier’s Song’ (‘Amhrán na bhFiann‘), which would go on to become the Irish National Anthem. Kearney was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, popularly known as the Feniansand the song stands as a call to arms for a generation of Irish people who were used to only political nationalism.

“Some died by the glenside, some died mid the stranger
And wise men have told us their cause was a failure
But they stood by old Ireland and never feared danger
Glory o glory o to the Bold Fenian Men”

The O’Neills version starts slow and maudlin. Just as it should be before speeding up with military style drumming and tin whistle. Never in a thousand years would you guess that this wasn’t an Irish band! The EP dips into more poppy territory with ‘Avicii’ next. The song is a mash-up of three of the house DJ Avicii’s three biggest hits done in a folk style. Again Krisztina’s voice is prominent, and why not when its this good, with the bands instruments wrapped around it. The song is mid-paced and is a catchy as hell foot tapper. Later on Dániel joins in on vocals and is the perfect foil for Krisztina.

“One day my father—he told me,
“Son, don’t let it slip away”
He took me in his arms, I heard him say,
“When you get older
Your wild life will live for younger days
Think of me if ever you’re afraid.”
He said, “One day you’ll leave this world behind
So live a life you will remember”

The EP ends with ‘Country Medley’ and is exactly what it says on the bottle. A compilation of Irished up excerpts of country (ish) classics. Daniel leads the bands on vocals with what must be a sure fire live favourite proving that these Bhoys and Ghirls can certainly play their instruments.

The O’Neills from left to right: Tamás Kaposvári- Cello * Dániel Fekete-Szűcs- Acoustic Guitar, Vocals * Krisztina Hajdu- Vocals * Sophia Lajgút- Fiddle * Júlia Seres- Flutes

All over and done and dusted in just over ten minutes its a great first chapter and though it may not appeal to all celtic punk fans I’m sure there’s plenty out there willing to give a band from the more folkier side of things a chance.

( you can hear the whole of Chapter One below on You Tube)

Buy The EP

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So all in all a very impressive start for our Hungarian celtic-punk week. Check back in a couple of days for part two of three. If you are interested in finding out more about the great celtic-punk scene in Hungary (and if you got any sense you better be) the best place to find it is the ‘Celtic Punk/ Irish Folk Hungary’ group on Facebook here

HUNGARIAN CELTIC PUNK WEEK! EP REVIEW: FIRKIN- ‘Into The Night’ (2017)

Our Hungarian Celtic Punk week continues with the second of our three reviews and this time it stars the wonderful Firkin. As they say on their press “Firkin should not be seen, Firkin must be experienced! Firkin is good, firkin’ good!” and for once when talking about European celtic punk I can agree! For the final installment check back in a couple of days.

Well here’s the second part of our Hungarian triple header. An EP released by one of the more prominent and internationally well known of the Hungarian celtic-punk bands. Firkin’s appeal doesn’t just stop with celtic-punk fans and they are one of the biggest bands in Hungary full stop and these days quite a draw across Europe too. Formed in 2008 in the Hungarian capital of Budapest they have released a bunch of albums and toured numerous times including playing an absolutely stunning one-off show in London on New Years Eve 2015. The gig drew in equal numbers of Hungarian ex-pats and London celtic punks that raised the bloody roof off the Dublin Castle! Certainly if putting in the hard work gets you the glory then Firkin have been working overtime to get the attention they deserve. Their original vocalist Barna left since recording their last album, which we reviewed here, but new singer Andy has stepped ably into his shoes and Firkin have carried on without pause or even catching breath!

Into The Night starts off with the title song ‘Into the Night’ and you can spot from the very off the different approach Firkin have to celtic-punk than The Crazy Rogues, who we reviewed the other day here. A far heavier sound erupts from the speakers and they manage to have both a trad Irish and punk sound going on at the same time. Their are some similarities though. The fiddle leads the way and also flute which is used a lot here to great effect. One of my favourite memories of that London NYE gig was PJ’s playing. You just couldn’t take your eyes off him so amazing was he to watch. For an instrument that sounds so Irish it does surprise me that not more bands use in it the scene especially when you hear bands like Firkin utilising it so well. Andy also sings in English and has a very strong and clear voice and again there is a very clear story telling way of writing song lyrics going on here. If they get off to a storming start to the EP they follow it up with the more Irish trad folk based ‘Flowers’. A beautiful song that shows Andy’s voice can easily manage both the folk and punk side to Firkin. Hey I tells you if your mammy wouldn’t like this this song then she got no taste! A song that swirls around Andy’s voice which is used another instrument alongside the flute here. Originally known as ‘The Flower of Magherally’ it has been recorded in the past mainly by the Irish trad community so was unknown to me but what a bloody good version this is I straight away thought.

We have a much more widely known cover up next with ‘Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye’. Mainly famous in these circles I would have thought for the Dropkick Murphys recording that Firkin stick fairly close to. A fast paced punky song with shouty chorus and fiddle lead. First published in 1867 and written by Joseph B. Geoghegan it remained popular in Britain and Ireland and the United States into the early years of the 20th century but it was when it was recorded by The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem in 1961 that lead to a renewal of its popularity. An anti-war song that was used to great effect to stop Irishmen joining the British Army the story tells of an Irish woman who bumps into her former lover near Athy, Co. Kildare, Ireland. He is badly disfigured, losing his legs, his arms, his eyes and his nose and is now begging. The woman though is happy to see him and the implication is that she looks after him so for once a happy ending in an Irish song! The EP comes to an end with a bonus song that I have heard before. ‘Focimese’ was the song that Firkin wrote for the European Football Championship last year to support the Hungarian football team. It’s a rollicking great tune with plenty “La, La, La, La La’s” to keep the fans happy and a chugging guitar that accompanies the fiddle. A song that inspired the team to top their initial group before sadly losing to Belgium 4-0 in the Round Of 16. Four great tunes that show exactly why Firkin are so sought after across Europe. A absolutely perfect mix of Irish and punk rock with a real story telling way to them and on top of that a really good live show as well.

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So all in all our Hungarian celtic-punk week gets another thumbs up. Don’t forget to check back in a couple of days for our final installment. If you are interested in finding out more about the great celtic-punk scene in Hungary (and you better be) the best place to visit is the ‘Celtic Punk/ Irish Folk Hungary’ group on Facebook here.

HUNGARIAN CELTIC PUNK WEEK! EP REVIEW: THE CRAZY ROGUES- ‘Rebels’ Shanties’ (2017)

Anyone remember 2015? That was the year of the Hungarian celtic-punk record. A whole host of bands coming together in a perfect storm and absolutely completely dominating the scene that year. Loch Nesz, The Jolly Jackers, The Crazy Rogues, The Scarlet, Firkin and Paddy And The Rats all featured in the London Celtic Punks end of year ‘Best Of 2015’ charts and all received glowing critical praise galore. What quite happened to them all last year is a mystery but the Hungarian celtic-punks are back with a fecking bang! So for one week we are running a Hungarian celtic-punk special. Three reviews in seven days from three amazing EP’s from three equally amazing bands who all have completely different styles of celtic-punk.

The Crazy Rogues are from Veszprém in mid-Hungary and were formed in 2014 making them among the earliest of the second wave of Hungarian celtic-punk bands.With two EP’s behind them, one of Demo versions and another called Chapter 1 which we reviewed back in 2015 here giving it a massive thumbs up. They have named their style as ‘Rogue ‘N’ Roll’ taking in elements of punk, country and bluegrass as well as Irish and Celtic. The EP begins with ‘And Then the Sky Fell’ and its fast fiddle led celtic-punk with good ole’ fashioned punk rock drumming and punk rock guitar playing in the background at times pushing the fiddle forward. ‘Fleet’ is up next and is a bit more traditional celtic-punk of the Flogging Molly kind. One of the things I liked on The Crazy Rogues previous releases is how they can switch from their folkier side to their more punky side with ease. They slow it down next with the sad tale of ‘The Sad Leprechaun’. A leprachaun is a mischievous mythical creature that roams the Irish countryside playing tricks on humans. Many though think they are real, including my Grandparents! Again the fiddle is the lead here and Verrasztó’s vocals are suitably angsty as he tells us of the life of these solitary creatures. The flute appears here and like a lot of Hungarian bands in particular it’s used to good measure.

They speed it up next with the fast paced punky song ‘Mutineers (must DIE)’ and though it does seem funny to call something a ‘traditional punk rock’ song this is it! Shouty gang choruses and fast guitar and then all of the sudden banjo pops up and we get a short blast of each band members individual talents before it ends. Short and sweet and snappy as hell and then we drift into ‘Silver Hair’ which reminds me of the sort of bluesy country folk that Shane MacGowan and The Popes were so f’ing brilliant. Superb mandolin here from Fellegi and I have to say that the mando and the banjo have been a bit low in the mix thus far so great to hear it dominate on this track. Well that is until right out the blue it suddenly switches to a ska song and the song ends with an absolute flourish with electric guitar helping it speed to a finish. The absolute standout track here for me. Can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this song! The EP ends with the song ‘Rebellion’ and is a tribute to the Easter Rising of 1916 when a small band of Irishmen and woman declared war on the British Empire. They took over several important buildings in Dublin and held them for a week against far superior British forces and many died during that week until the rebels were forced to surrender. The British executed the leaders of the rebellion and this led to a wave of sympathy which would eventually lead to full scale war across Ireland that would in the end see freedom for the 3/4’s of the country. Verrasztó’s voice is clear and loud and stamps out where The Crazy Rogues stand. A perfect celtic-punk tune with everything that makes celtic-punk great. Story based lyrics with a solid punk rock base embellished with Irish instruments especially the fiddle again. Songs to get you both thinking and dancing is what celtic-punk is all about!

So six Crazy Rogues composed songs that clock in at a very healthy twenty-five minutes and not a single sign of a cover version. All sang in English with a multitude of musical styles thrown into the celtic-punk mix and with very thoughtful lyrics about a multitude of subjects that are very easy to understand. Rebel’s Shanties is an excellent EP and The Crazy Rogues continue to forge ahead to make a name for themselves in celtic-punk circles. Like both their previous releases Rebel’s Shanties is available for ‘Name Your Price’ download which basically means pay nothing if you got nothing and a couple of pounds (or more) if you got a couple of pounds. This EP is certainly worthy of it.

(listen to the Rebel Shantie’s EP for free by pressing play on the player below)

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So all in all a very impressive start for our Hungarian celtic-punk week. Check back in a couple of days for part two of three. If you are interested in finding out more about the great celtic-punk scene in Hungary (and if you got any sense you better be) the best place to find it is the ‘Celtic Punk/ Irish Folk Hungary’ group on Facebook here

LONDON CELTIC PUNKS PRESENTS OUR BEST OF 2015!

One of the best things about doing this here blog-zine is the end of year ‘Best Of’s’. This is our chance to reward, for what it’s worth, and recommend those releases that tickled our collective fancies over the last twelve months. Where as in 2013 the Best Of’s were dominated by local bands and releases and in 2014 it was international bands that stole the show this years is more of a mix of the two. No shocks at the top I’m afraid. It was always going to be a slug out between the big hitters of celtic-punk with The Rumjacks just shading it from the The Mahones by the slightest of margins. One of the team commented that the only difference was that ‘The Hunger And The Fight Part 1’ was slightly better than Part 2. In third place came 1916 out of New York who only just sneaked in with the December release of ‘Last Call For Heroes’. The album came out so late we didn’t even get a chance to mention it let alone review it nevertheless it blew us all away with their brilliant combination of rockabilly and celtic-punk. Another one to file in the ‘shamrockabilly’ category. Overall no major surprises and all four admins lists pretty much tallied up with each other but it’s especially great to see some non-English speaking bands in there as well as some bands that were new to us in the last twelve months. I was particularly happy to see Skontra and The Cundeez make the grade representing celtic-punk as played in the celtic nations. As ever we have reviewed some, though not all of these albums, so click (here) after the title and you will be re-directed to our review. If your album is not here do not be downhearted. These twenty album’s are the tip of the iceberg of what was released last year in what was an outstanding year for celtic-punk. Feel free to comment, slag off or dissect our lists. We don’t pretend to be the final word as that my friends is for you…

TOP 20 CELTIC PUNK ALBUMS

1. THE RUMJACKS- ‘Sober And Godless’  (here)

2. THE MAHONES- ‘The Hunger And The Fight Part 2’

3. 1916- ‘Last Call For The Heroes’ (here)

4. FEROCIOUS DOG- ‘From Without’

5. THE GREENLAND WHALEFISHERS- ‘The Thirsty Mile’  (here)

6. MR.IRISH BASTARD- ‘The World, The Flesh & The Devil’  (here)

7.  THE DEAD MAGGIES- ‘Well Hanged’  (here)

8. THE GO SET- ‘Rolling Sound’  (here)

9. MICKEY RICKSHAW- ‘No Heaven For Heroes’  (here)

10. HAPPY Ol’ McWEASEL- ‘Heard Ya Say’  (here)

 11. JASPER COAL- ‘Just The One…’  (here)

12. THE CUNDEEZ- Sehturday Night Weaver  (here)

13. THE FATTY FARMERS- ‘Escape From The Dirty Pigs’  (here)

14. THE SHILLELAGHS- ‘Bury Me At Sea’  (here)

15. JOLLY JACKERS- ‘Sobriety’  (here)

16. MALASANERS- Spanish Eyes’  (here)

17. SKONTRA- ‘Foguera’  (here)

18. THE WAXIES’ ‘Down With The Ship’  (here)

19. KITCHEN IMPLOSION- ‘Selfish’

20. THE TOSSPINTS- The Privateer  (here)

TOP TEN CELTIC PUNK EP’S

Now onto the EP’s. These are classed as shorter usually four to six songs long and around anything right up to 15-20 minutes long. No shock here at number one as a unanimous vote saw this years new band of the year Mick O’Toole walk away with the title. They have been a solid fixture during the year building up quite a reputation and following. At number two it’s long been a well known secret that Indonesia is a hotbed of celtic-punk and Dirty Glass are one of the best bands in their flourishing scene and ‘Drunken Summer Nights’ ran O’Toole very close while another English band came in third. Matilda’s Scoundrels really hit the heights in 2015 and just like Mick O’Toole bigger and better things await them in 2016. The rest of the list is made up from bands from across the globe with Slovenia, South Africa, Hungary, Catalonia, Russia, Holland, France and Yorkshire all making the list.

1. MICK O’TOOLE- ‘1665 Pitchfork Rebellion’  (here)

2. DIRTY GLASS- ‘Drunken Summer Night’  (here)

3. MATILDA’S SCOUNDRELS- ‘Split w/ The Barracks’  (here)

4. ZUNAME- ‘Pipes Not Dead’  (here)

5. THE HYDROPATHS- ‘Wailing Away’  (here)

6. SOUTH SHORE RAMBLERS- ‘Open Room Sessions’  (here)

7. O’HAMSTERS- ‘Kiss My Irish Ass’  (here)

8. LOCH NESZ- ‘Leave The Captain Behind’  (here)

9. CIRCLE J- ‘Year Of The Goat’  (here)

10. SIGELPA- ‘Ens Van Diagnosticar Un Transtorn’  (here)

11. THE MOORINGS- ‘Nicky’s Detox’  (here)

TOP TEN FOLK/TRADITIONAL RELEASES

As the blog is for (mostly) celtic punk so it is that we only review stuff that isn’t celtic punk if we really really (really!!) like it. All these rocked our boat and we loved each of them all to bits. If you like celtic-punk then you should not be afraid to give traditional folk a listen. Most of it is more punk than punk these days you know. It’s a direct link to the music that inspired celtic punk music and their are some amazing bands and performers out there. Hard to decide which order they should go in especially as O’Hanlons Horsebox could have just as easily won this years Best Celtic Punk Album as well! This is how the Top Ten ended up.

1. O’HANLONS HORSEBOX- ‘Songs And Stories From The Border’  (here)

2. BARRULE- Mannannans Cloak’  (here)

3. LE VENT DU NORD- ‘Têtu’  (here)

4. BRYAN McPHERSON- ‘Wedgewood’  (here)

5. THE RATHMINES- ‘Ramblin With The Rats. Stolen Songs of Struggle’  (here)

6. ANTO MORRA- ‘Boudicca’s Country’

7. JACK OF ALL- ‘Bindle Punk’  (here)

8. JOHNNY CAMPBELL- ‘Hook, Line And Sinker’  (here)

9. FFR CELTIC FIESTA- ‘Fresh Blood’

10. THE PROCLAIMERS- ‘Let’s Hear It For The Dogs’  (here)

11. SKWARDYA- ‘Domhwelyans/ Revolution’

TOP CELTIC PUNK WEB-SITE

Again Waldo over at Celtic Folk Punk And More walks away with this award. There is simply no better site on the internet. Everything you would possibly need to know is here with a HUGE range of bands covered and there is no doubt in my mind that the site you are reading here now would not exist without the inspiration of Celtic Folk Punk And More. Sadly Waldo published a post on January 3rd titled ‘New Year, New Life’ (here) announcing the suspension of the site for a while. We wish Waldo well and look forward to his, and his fantastic web site’s, return.

* The lists were compiled from the scraps of crumpled paper, and one beermat, handed to me by the other three admins from the London Celtic Punks Facebook page and tallied up over several pints of beer in a seedy working man’s Irish boozer in north London.

 Sláinte, The London Celtic Punks Crew- 2015

all the major players in celtic-punk do Best Of lists so click below to check out what they thought

CELTIC FOLK PUNK AND MORE

CELTIC-ROCK

PADDYROCK

MacSLONS IRISH RADIO

remember any views or comments we would love to hear them…

ALBUM REVIEW: FIRKIN- ‘Finger In The Pie’ (2014)

Firkin- The crazy Irish band from Hungary!

Well here we go again and I feel a sense of deja-vu here as we find ourselves reviewing yet another Hungarian celtic-punk record. We seem to have done so many this year it’s hard to keep a track of them all and once again its yet another outstanding album. The quality of the music and the bands is simply unbelievable and it completely baffles me how they can manage it. Lets face it the Hungarian scene dwarfs the scene here in England in both number of bands and releases. What attracts Hungarians in such numbers to celtic/Irish music is for others more knowledgeable than myself to comment on but I for one am sure glad they are.

Firkin are one of the biggest bands in Hungary and are these days quite a draw all across Europe too. They were formed in 2008 and have released a whole bunch of albums as well as official DVD’s and toured numerous times. If putting in the work gets you the glory then certainly Firkin have been working overtime.

2013

2012

Though it was released last year ‘Finger In The Pie’ sees Firkin ploughing much the same field as previous albums and we are not complaining one iota. Sadly the vocalist on this album, Barna Marthy, has since left but new singer Andy has stepped ably into his shoes and Firkin carried on without pause or catching breath! The first of the album’s fourteen tracks is an old Irish trad classic, and a personal favourite of mine, ‘Donegal Danny’. From the very first bars you’ll be amazed at how clear Barna’s vocals are and he could easily pass as a local! Fast as anything but still staying close to the traditional roots of the song, about a crew of fishermen from Killibegs, who are drowned at sea, bar one, in the wild ocean of the Atlantic. Written by Phil Coulter, a genius of Irish songwriting who counts ‘The Town I Love So Well’ and ‘Scorn Not His Simplicity’ among his most famous works.

“So here’s to those that are dead and gone
The friends that I loved dear
And here’s to you then I’ll bid you adieu
Saying Donegal Danny’s been here me boys
Donegal Danny’s been here”

Followed by ‘If I Could Be The Pope’ and this strikes a chord with me. About being brought up a Catholic and it never really leaving you. Great tune with again Barna and his vocals and lyrics on fire with the flute up front and as catchy a chorus your like to hear. Love this song and definitely one of the album stand out tracks.

(not brilliant sound quality but WHAT a spectacle!)

‘Kind And Fine’ is put to the tune of ‘The Foggy Dew’ and is sung by another former band member Pali. ‘Molly Malone’ you would have heard before numerous times I am sure and if I have one minor quibble it is that while theirs nothing wrong with including songs like this in your live set I don’t see the point of recording it but this takes nothing away from Firkin who make a great stab at it with the fiddle work and whistle especially standing out. Flute starts ‘Parasite’s Lust’ and if you think its heading into Jethro Tull territory you couldn’t be more wrong as soon the band are pulling it back into classic celtic-punk territory.

‘High And Low’ sees Firkin really pushing the boat out. A string sextet accompanies them on this epic ballad that has more than a wee nod to folk-metal but without the showoffery. The song occasionally feels like it may take off but the band show great restraint in holding it back. That restraint was certainly due as the following track shows Firkin’s metal edge much more clearly and ‘The Child Of Fire’ would be at home in any folk-metal bands repertoire. Judit Bonyár guest vocals on ‘I Am Who I Am’ and her voice suits the fast celtic- rock out perfectly. The fiddle is amazing on this track and the whole song despite the female vocals has the traditional Firkin feel about it that we have come to love. ‘Loch Lomond’ sees the band step into Scots territory and the pipes begin and even if the songs title doesn’t ring too many bells as soon as Barna begins to sing you’ll be accompanying the song along. Very nicely played and again played as fast as possible but with one foot firmly in traditional music. The album’s title track is up next and ‘Finger In The Pie’ begins slowly but soon speeds up into the album’s stand out track and guaranteed to have you leaping out of your chair.

“Early in the morning with the devil in my belly
Singing nasty little tunes of the drinks last night
My finger on the phone, but I throw it on the telly
and I reach out for the bottle right by my side”

During the early slow bits of this tale of unrequited love you can feel a surge is coming and it won’t disappoint when it arrives with fiddle, flute and a electric guitar solo all at play here with the frantic drumming.

Another female guest vocalist appears on the next song, ‘My Love John’, and again Nóra Fehér has the most beautiful voice that is simply perfect to sing this song. It has a 60’s/ 70’s classic English folk sound to it and with the strings sextet back on this number as well it shows the range that Firkin have and also how far they will go to achieve perfection for their music. ‘Dirty Julie’ shows that range again as Firkin punk it up with a daft song with a catchy tin whistle laden chorus. A nod to the North-East’s premier pop-punk band The Toydolls as well and we’re heading towards the end of the album and ‘Nincompoop’ and again its a fast paced punky number and looks like ‘Finger In The Pie’ is going to go out with a bang.

And indeed the album does end with a bang with ‘Jumpin’ Lovers’. A fast as hell instrumental using the famous ‘Tam Lin’ reel. Again this may mean not so much to you but soon as the song begins i guarantee you’ll recognise the tune. Lili’s fiddle playing has been perfect throughout the album and nowhere better than on this amazing song.

So you get thirteen songs with one instrumental of which the band penned eight and a collection of six covers of traditional songs that range from the obscure to the well known. Apart from the one tiny gripe mentioned above this is a great album and further cements Firkin’s place as one of Europe’s best and most favoured celtic-punk bands. At well over forty minutes you certainly get your monies worth too and the actual CD is put together with a lot of thought and devotion with band photos galore and lyrics included.

to be re-directed to the Facebook event simply click on the flyer

Firkin are heading our way later this month for a gig at the famous Dublin Castle in Camden on New Years Eve. They will be joined on stage by another band who recently lost an important member but have come back stronger than ever in Mick O’Toole. To say I am looking forward to this is an understatement and I can honestly say there’s no better way to see in 2016 than in the company of these two great bands.

Buy The Album

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if you are interested in finding out more about the great scene in Hungary (and you’d be mad not to be) the best place to visit is the ‘Celtic Punk/ Irish Folk Hungary’ group on Facebook here.

for an alternative view of this album check here and read ‘Celtic Folk Punk And More’ and their view of ‘Finger In The Pie.

• Firkin released ‘Revox’ this year which was a three track single featuring the songs ‘If I Could Be The Pope’, ‘Finger In The Pie’ and ‘Parasite’s Lust’ featuring new singer Andy and as stated above he has filled Barna’s shoes and more!

ALBUM REVIEW: PADDY AND THE RATS- ‘Lonely Hearts Boulevard’ (2015)

“Hungary’s most famous Irish folk punk band”

Looking back on 2015 it will be forever known as the year of the Hungarian celtic-punk band! Already this year we have reviewed releases by Loch Nesz, The Jolly Jackers, The Scarlet and The Crazy Rogues and we still haven’t got round to reviewing the new album by Firkin either!

Paddy And The Rats are probably the best known of all the Hungarian celtic-punk bands and deservedly so. Hard work and constant touring have paid dividends for the band and these days they are known throughout Europe for their superb records and great live shows. With three albums behind them- ‘Rats On Board’, ‘Hymns For Bastards’ and ‘Tales From The Docks’- I awaited this new album with bated breath and I am very glad to report I was not disappointed at all.

Formed in 2008 it was their love of Irish music, pirates and punk rock that inspired them to start a band up and they have been going strong and getting stronger ever since. The original celtic-punk sound is still evident on Lonely Hearts Boulevard but it is also clear that the band are moving slightly away from it too. No harm in that. Its called progression and I’d rather they did that than just stick to playing ‘The Wild Rover’ for evermore.

Hymns For Bastards (2011)

Rats On Board (2010)

Tales From The Dock (2012)

Lonely Hearts Boulevard begins with ‘Keep The Devil Down In The Hole’ but is not the famous Tom Waits/ The Wire song but classic celtic punk rock with great banjo playing and the closest you’ll get to a country and western fiddle being played in a punk rock band. Reminds me of Flogging Molly somewhat and that is never a bad thing. Following is the the title track and ‘Lonely Hearts Boulevard’ follows much the same formula and is my favourite album track. Catchy as hell and a real toe tapper. On first listen you would take this album to be a real uplifting experience. The songs certainly bounce along with tons of energy but lyrically it’s a dark journey through pain, loneliness and struggle.

“Coz there’s a lot of pain
While we’re marching
Down through the life
And there’s a lot of fear
As we walk through the dark
On the Lonely Hearts Boulevard”

Bagpipes come in towards the end and complete the celtic sound. ‘My Sharona’ has a Sparks feel to it and is the first track without any sort of ‘celticness’. Still it rocks my boat and I am not complaining. Paddy And The Rats enter proper anthem territory with ‘Rogue’, a song that will I am sure get the audience on their feet at gigs.

Their first trip across the sea with a number about trying to keep one ahead of the navy while a bounty is placed on your head.

“Hold again
For the last sea and the friends
Take away my heart from this dusty land
They call me the rogue
But I’ll keep on looting, my friend
Let’s haul the rope again”

‘That’s My Nature’ is also one of the album stand out tracks and comes with a cracking video too. There’s a slight metal edge to the guitars and even though the ‘celtic-ness’ is toned down a bit here it’s still a great song. As with all the great celtic-punk premier league groups, to become one of the scene’s truly treasured bands it’s not just 110 mph fast fast fast you have to be master of the ballad too. Or at least for a minute or two before cranking it back up to 110 mph again. ‘Sleeping With The Winter’ is the former and is a welcome change after the previous five tracks. Very American sounding and the sort of track you could imagine any of the scene’s greats playing. Slow acoustic and with great heartfelt lyrics. ‘Drunker Than You’ is the closest on this album to Paddy And The Rats and their first album. A shitload of swearing accompanied by frantic fiddle, accordion and banjo and all the while Paddy O’Reilly shouting tunefully over the top. Paddy is a great front man and his voice fits perfectly.  ‘Captain Of My Soul’ continues with the celtic feel and begins with piano before fiddle jumps in and so begins a cracking song. Exactly what celtic-punk should be. A real punked up Irish tune with great lyrics too.

“I follow my lush heart
There’s immortal, lamp flame
I slunk like a wise wolf
Between lust and shame
If I let myself tempted
By the killing snake eyes
I forget my greedy vice”

The country/celtic of ‘Blue Eyes’ is a welcome slow down and the banjo picking is superb and leads us into a tale of debauchery in ‘Rock This City’ that any pirate would be proud of. The city is Budapest and with Paddy And The Rats in town I’m sure it is rocked to the max. Bagpipes give the song a nice Dropkick Murphys sound and if you close your eyes you could be in Boston.

“I outshined the sun
And I stole the moon
I fucked with the stars
On sunday afternoon
All of your dreams are made
If you wanna believe
I’ll put a smile on you
Before I leave”

Frantic punk rock drumming and electric guitar on ‘Time Is In My Hands’ can’t hide the celtic tune it’s wrapped around while ‘Without You (I Don’t Wanna Dance)’ is one of the more radio friendly album tracks and comes accompanied by a video with the band frollicking at the beach with a host of young maidens. This summery song sure is catchy enough but give me celtic-punk any day!

‘Junkyard Girl’ is a straight up punk tune with daft lyrics and Lonely Hearts Boulevard’s fourteen tracks comes to an end with ‘What We Are’. Again outstanding lyrics and a slower song building up and up. The ‘fist in the air’ song of the album by a long way. The song ends abruptly with the whole band singing along in a song that I would imagine means a lot to them personally.

 “Sometimes it’s hard to have the courage
To start all over again
But never be afraid to fight for yourself, my friend
Time is the longest distance
Between now and your dreams
Let’s find for you
A different point of view”

So there you have it. Don’t come along to ‘Lonely Hearts Boulevard’ expecting the full on Irish/ celtic tunes of previous albums but instead expect a band not happy just to rest on their laurels, that continues to play celtic-punk but with more and more influences flooding in. That a lot of these songs were originally intended for a solo album explains a lot to me. Paddy And The Rats are going places and they won’t be confined to any genre just for the sake of it. Onwards and upwards but don’t worry just yet they are in no hurry to forget their celtic punk roots any time soon.

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a couple more interesting sites are the ‘Paddy And The Rats Fan Group’ here and the ‘Celtic Punk/irish Folk Hungary’ Facebook group here is a great community of like minded people.

here

EP REVIEW: THE CRAZY ROGUES- ‘Chapter One’ (2015)

Irish-country folk-punk from Veszprém in Hungary

FREE DOWNLOAD

It has been a funny old year in the celtic-punk world I tells you. Last year the most outstanding records and bands seemed to come from faraway Indonesia. An amazing scene with equally amazing bands and releases. Young and vibrant and massive and pretty much everything the celtic-punk scene isn’t in good old London town (only kidding!!). Well this year it is the year of the Hungarian celtic-punk scene. I am beginning to lose count of the number of reviews I have done so far, just this year, of bands from Hungary. A quick check and so far we have already featured this Loch Nesz, The Jolly Jackers and The Scarlet  (and it’s only September!) on top of them there’s a whole host of other bands who haven’t released anything this year like Paddy And The Rats, Firkin and Colleen and Punk Whiskey. The thing that sticks out and I have mentioned it many a time is that even in a small scene, like the one in Hungary, the bands manage to sound quite different to one another with each offering up something fresh and appealing, even to a jaded auld sod like meself!

The Crazy Rogues Standing: Godár Máté (Electric Guitar, Vocals) * Fellegi Krisz (Banjo) * Biermann Teo (Flute) * Szelényi Dániel (Acoustic Guitar, Vocals) * Faragó Dániel (Violin) Front: Nagy Ákos (Drums) * Fazekas Gábor (Bass, Vocals)

The EP is four songs and comes in just slightly shy of fifteen minutes and The Crazy Rogues certainly know a good tune. ‘Chapter One’ begins with ‘Hello World’ and straight from the beginning the sound of banjo and fiddle and flute grabs you and you know this isn’t just a straight up punk band. They sing in English which doesn’t particularly bother me, as if anything I have always preferred bands to sing in their native language, but in a scene dominated by north American bands you would have to agree it’s sadly the easiest way to get known. The song changes in tempo all the way though and at first it seems unusual but you soon get used to them and before you know it you’re not even noticing them anymore.

“When you’re lost for words to tell
If you go to fight in hell
When you meet an Irish fellow
Doesn’t matter, just say hello”

‘Mighty Cowboys’ follows and is the highlight of the EP for me with great music and a superb tune that encompasses both folk and country and Irish traditional. Any second it could break into a ‘hoe-down’ that is kept at bay by the punk rock guitars and drumming. Great lyrics telling of the life of a cowboy.

“Taking all the gold of people
Spending it for beer and trouble
Such a cool life in the wild west
They said my life would be harmless”

It seems to be the way now that new bands must have a signature tune and The Crazy Rogues are no different with ‘The Crazy Rogues’ that kicks off with electric guitar and vocals that remind me of the legends that are The Greenland Whalefishers.

“Here we stand seven old friends folking down the road
That’s exactly how we like it we are the crazy rogues”

‘Rolling Barrels’ brings us the end and in the tradition of celtic-punk they give us a good auld pub song to quench our thirst.

“We can’t be heroes
Just employed slaves
Pieces of machine
That no-one saves
Eight hours of work
Eight hours of rest
Eight hours of fucking entertainment”

A EP that sounds like the band had a bloody good time recording it and you get the impression from ‘Chapter One’ that they are a band that is to be seen live to get the most from them. The Hungarian celtic-punk scene has a lot of very good, interesting and different bands and not only that but it seems to be a very friendly scene as well with the bands helping each other out rather than competing with each other. The majority of the bands make their recordings free to download (in fact check here and go download crazy) though you ought to leave a few pence for them. An all-dayer starring all these bands might even get me to blow the cobwebs off my passport and shift my lazy arse to Hungary. Thats how good they all are!

(you can listen to the whole of’ Chapter One’ below on the Bandcamp player…just press play and the download is free but also ‘Pay As Much As You Like’)

Buy The EP

FromTheBand  AnonymRecords

you also can hear it on YouTube here

Contact The Band

Facebook  Bandcamp  YouTube  Soundcloud

• their is even more Hungarian celtic-punk to come as I just found out that Paddy And The Rats are releasing a new album very soon to be called ‘Lonely Hearts Boulevard’. So keep watching this space!

EP REVIEW: LOCH NESZ- ‘Leave The Captain Behind’ (2015)

FREE DOWNLOAD

Right take a deep breath… Paddy And The Rats, The Scarlet, The Jolly Jackers, Firkin, Colleen, Punk Whiskey and now you can add to that list of superb Hungarian celtic-punks the name of Loch Nesz as well. Formed in the summer of 2010 the band have been quite prolific in their short time releasing a great album, ‘Dance The Jawbreaker Jig’, and a whole bunch of singles and songs to download. In the great spirit of Hungarian celtic-punk this EP is free to download so click the link at the bottom of the review to get some great celtic-punk music in yer ear holes.

from left to right: Gergely Sárosi – Guitar, Vocals Kristóf László – Lead Vocals István Murányi – Banjo, Great Highland Bagpipes Marcell Endrey – Accordion, Vocals Geri Sándor – Bass Ákos Szabolcs – Drums in the foreground: Gergely Kofrán – Violin, Vocals

Loch Nesz new EP ‘Leave The Captain Behind’  begins with ‘The Cape Of Good Hope’ and this wonderful song sets the pace for the EP. All three songs are self-penned and songwriting credits are shared amongst the band. You can read the EP’s lyrics at their web site here. Catchy as hell and played to perfection. Once again I am left marvelling at the quality of musicianship within the scene. Great celtic-punk music thats shows no allegiance to any of the celtic-punk greats and more importantly perhaps doesn’t sound like any of their fellow Hungarian bands either.

“When the lads get go down to the hold
and let the winds say where we sail
We sing of rattlebones and good ol’ Davy Jones
and by gallons drink the ale
But when midnight is around the floor starts to pound
and the skeletons come to dance
Fight the fuckers with all your might
Till only the last man stands!”

The video looks super fun and was filmed at several live Loch Nesz shows as well as the Caledona Pub, a Scottish/Celtic-themed pub in Budapest. The song itself tells the tale of a ship similar to the’Flying Dutchman’ and its crew, but is really about people who are having difficulty finding where they truly belong. As Greg from Loch Nesz say’s

“yes, we are close enough in age to our Linkin Park-filled youth to justifiably put some teenage melodrama in our lyrics”

Last year Loch Nesz released a longer version of ‘The Cape Of Good Hope’ but they hope this shorter and snappier version will catch them some airplay and why not. Starting off with accordion soon joined by fiddle and mandolin and then Kristóf’s singing starts up. His voice is perfectly suited to the music a sort of Tom Waits growl but still listenable and tuneful too. Following this is ‘When I’m Drunk’

“either sorrow or bliss, there’s nothing to miss
We’re all here for such a short time
Tomorrow we’re old, withered and bored
Until then, pretend we’re alive!
I ’m aware that I’m rare
so the world better spare me,
’cause I’m so cool
when I am drunk”

At first glance ‘When I’m Drunk’ appears to be a typical drinking song but is more of a parody of the stereotypical alpha male mentality so often found in the genre. Nothing wrong with drinking songs but far, far too many of them abound so absolutely brilliant to hear a band tackling the problem with a sense of humour. Unlike some who feel it’s better to lecture about things they know absolutely nothing about. The song speeds up and adds bagpipes to the already crowded mix and adds a (not too often heard in celtic-punk) guitar solo as well! The EP’s title track ‘Leave The Captain Behind’ brings the record to a close and so ends ten minutes of pure celtic-punk heaven.

“the ship is sinking, the captain’s drunk
lying shit-faced in his bunk
the ship is sinking, let’s save the booze
and let’s leave the captain behind”

Unlike the two other songs, it doesn’t even try to be more than it actually is – a few fictional sailors telling exaggerated stories of the sea in the catchiest way possible and bloody hell catchy is the word!

That this record is free is by the by as if it wasnt then I would be telling you all to pay for it anyway. All the above mentioned Hungarian bands are worthy of your time but begin with Loch Nesz, The Scarlet and The Jolly Jackers all bands who have released records in 2015 and given them to you for free. All amazing celtic-punk bands with amazing celtic-punk records and they all sound different with different styles too. Whatever is hapening over there in Hungary it certainly looks like 2015 is their year!

Contact The Band

WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Soundcloud

Download The EP

ClickHere

to hear a selection of Loch Nesz songs from their various releases press play below

you can download The Scarlet’s EP here and The Jolly Jackers album here

and if you are on Facebook then go along to the ‘Celtic Punk/Irish Folk Hungary’ group page here where a warm welcome awaits you!

ALBUM REVIEW: JOLLY JACKERS- ‘Sobriety’ (2015)

 AND FREE DOWNLOAD!

Hot on the heels of our recent review of The Scarlet’s new EP arrives the new album from another Hungarian band the Jolly Jackers. Writing that review of the The Scarlet’s EP (here) I commented about how good the celtic-punk scene in Hungary is at the moment with bands like The Scarlet, Firkin, Loch Nesz, Paddy And The Rats, to name but a few, and lo and behold straight after another grand Hungarian celtic-punk album lands on my doorstep. The Jolly Jackers hail from Dunaújváros a working class city in central Hungary famed for its steelworks, which is the largest in the country. They have only been going for a little over a year but in ‘Sobriety’ they have produced an absolute belter of a record and, even better for you the punter, they have made it available for free download as well.

(band from left to right) Bence Berta (Drums) István Farkas (Guitar, Acoustic guitar, Vocal) István Faragó “Sztivi” (Guitar, Acoustic guitar, Lead Vocal) Andrea Boncz (Flute, Tin Whistle, Vocal) Enikő Papp (Bass guitar, Vocal) Krisztina Ujházy (Violin, Vocal)

click on the cover above to re-direct to your free download

They already had a fantastic EP under their belts titled ‘Call The Captain’ that they released in March last year and is also available for free download. (Simply click on the EP record sleeve to be re-directed). ‘Sobriety’s’ nine tracks are all self penned with the exception of an excellently played cover so once again my hat goes off to the band for that. It’s often too easy to pad out your records with covers so its good to see more and more bands writing their own material. The only minor gripe I have, and to be honest it is only a gripe as I wanted to hear more, is that the record flies by so quickly. The Jolly Jackers keep up such an almighty pace all the way through you’ll be breathless as well by the end.

The first track begins with tin whistle before crashing guitars and fiddle take the title track ‘Sobriety’ off into territory far away from the Mollys or the Murphys and finds The Jolly Jackers finding their own sound.

“Sobriety, sobriety! My little punk!
Sobriety, sobriety! We are drunk!”

‘Sobriety’ is not a subject much heard in celtic-punk but don’t worry the bhoys and ghirls are not Pioneers and next track ‘Whiskey’ kicks off sounding like a ballad till the fiddle and some pretty amazing bluegrass style banjo underpinnning the tin whistle in a story of bar-flies. ‘The House’ takes us on a scary Halloween tale of a haunted house with whistle and chugging guitars.

“Hey! Hey! Blow the candles out!
Hey! Take the bottles and get out!
Hey! Hey! Get your girl and run!
Hey! For tonight there’s no more fun!
Run for your life! Run for your life!”

American country influences on ‘Hey Johnny’ and yet more punk rock banjo make this one of the album’s standout track for me. ‘The Train Never Stops’ is a sad song with mournful whistle and acoustic guitar about the death of a friend of the band through addiction.

“I still can hear Tommy’s laughs, now he’s on a train that never stops”

After that emotional ride ‘Get A Life’ grabs you by the throat and shows the Jolly Jackers can ramp it up and play a bit of good old-fashioned punk rock. Starting off like an classic punk song slowly the celtic instruments are introduced and this catchy as hell track would have pleased any of the celtic-punk scenes big hitters to have written. ‘Gold Rush’ is another catchy number with the bands elements coming together very nicely. The albums only cover is a well played version of ‘Star Of The County Down’  and even though it has been covered a fair few times its a great version and extremely well played. I think it would have been a nice touvh for the band to have sung ths in their native language personally. The album ends with the brilliant ‘Call The Captain’ a live acoustic version of the title track from that first EP. With influences from their native country on first listen it sounds a bit chucked together but listen again and you hear the intricacies involved.

All in all a very solid first album and different enough from their fellow Hungarian bands to plough their own furrow. Jolly Jackers certainly have the songs and musicianship to go beyond their own borders and I can definitly see them following Paddy And The Rats onto bigger things. Is this the year of the Hungarian band? Well two reviews into 2015 and they are both Hungarian so it would seem yes!

(press play below to hear the complete album)

Contact The Band

Facebook  Bandcamp  YouTube

Download The Album

Bandcamp- For Free!!

EP REVIEW: THE SCARLET- ‘Midnight Avenue’ (2015)

Sailing into view is a new celtic-punk band called The Scarlet and yet again we find that we can only gush glowingly about them. The Scarlet hail from Budapest in Hungary not that you’d know it though as the great lyrics are sung in crystal clear English and the music is full on celtic-punk with well played banjo and fiddle leading the way.  Formed in late 2012 they released a demo (available for free download from here) last year but ‘Midnight Avenue’ is The Scarlet’s first official release and is six tracks of almost twenty minutes of, mostly Dropkick Murphys style, quality celtic-punk. The EP has been produced by Kristóf, the lead singer of European celtic-punk favourites and fellow Hungarians Paddy And The Rats.

left to right:
András Tóth – Electric Guitar  Dominika Mészáros – Violin  Dániel Fekete-Szűcs – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar  Gábor Ridly – Drums  Júlia Seres – Flute  Aurél Czövek – Bass

The EP kicks off with ‘Thief Of Dublin’ with a classic celtic-punk sound and a great chorus with shouty ‘Oi, Oi’s’ and a harrowing tale of someone whose fell through the cracks in society. Not all is well in the land of saints and scholars it has to be said though set in Dublin it could, unfortunatly, be about anywhere.

“Mommy, tell me how it is possible to leave this shallow grave
Anytime this crappy addiction comes I turn into my own slave
As a child I was very gifted like a prodigy from heaven
What am I now: a scumbag wannabe rascal
Heading in the wrong direction”

The next track is ‘The Jesters Way Home’ and for me the EP’s standout song. Great fiddle in here and Kristóf’s production sticks out clear and loud with electric guitar and tin whistle combining perfectly with the aforesaid fiddle without anything dominating too much. The drumming keeps beat brilliantly and drives it all along steering it away from folk and keeping the sound very much in celtic-punk territory.

“The jester in his solitude is still wide awake

Coz the booze keeps his dreams”

Next up and carrying on in much the same vein is ‘Jacky Wood’ the story of a self-destructive punk rocker.

With ‘Misfortune’ The Scarlet sound the most like the Dropkicks but the song is more like a ballad than a full on punk song. The whole band get a chance to shine on it and these skilled musicians really do shine. One of those ‘end of the night’ songs where strangers wrap their arms round each other and put their pints in the air. A lovely song and a great video to accompany it. The Scarlet are back on more familar territory next with ‘Drunken Scallywag’ the EP’s most punky song and touches of metal shine through as well.

“Whatever occurs,
it could have been worse
Kiss my demons”

The everyday story of an alcoholocaust! Wrapping up the EP is a bonus track ‘Phoenix’ and the pirate tale of life aboard the good ship Phoenix.

Plenty of ‘Yo-Ho’s’ and metal guitar riffs accompanying the celtic instruments and it brings the EP to a nice end. All six songs here are self penned so kudos to The Scarlet for that and an album cannot be far behind I guess and I am already looking forward to it. Great things happening in the Hungarian celtic-punk scene and The Scarlet are a very welcome addition to it.

Contact The Band

Facebook  WebSite  YouTube  Twitter  Soundcloud

FREE DOWNLOAD: IRISH PUB SONGS COMPILATION

Destined to go down in history (well Celtic-Punk history anyway!) the Irish Pub Songs Collection. A download of the best music around today. 70 minutes long with 23 bands from 15 countries and available for nothing at all.

Every day’s St. Patrick’s Day according to Neck but a week today it actually is so to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, we are super pleased to offer you this collection of some of the finest Celtic-Punk bands around today to download completely for *FREE*. Seriously this is as good a sampler as you’ll find of what’s alive and kicking and fecking brilliant in the world of Celtic-Punk. Download link below but you can follow the links to find out more about each band.

TRACKLIST

01. Celkilt (France)- Everyday’s St Patrick’s Day  WebSite

02. Drink Hunters (Catalonia) – Drinking Song  Facebook

03. The Ramshackle Army (Australia) – Boilermaker’s Hands  Facebook  WebSite

04. Auld Corn Brigade (Germany)- Day To Day  WebSite

05. The Vandon Arms (USA) – Streets Of Gold  Facebook

06. Sunday Punchers (South Africa)- Guinness – Facebook

07. Lexington Field (USA) – Crazy Eyes  Facebook  WebSite

08. The Lagan (London)- Fields Of Athenry  Facebook  WebSite

09. Fiddler’s Green (Germany)- A Bottle A Day  WebSite

10. The Detonators (Serbia)- My World  Facebook

11. The Tosspints (USA) – Blood or Whiskey  Facebook

12. Pint Of Stout (Ukraine)- We All Deserve To Die Facebook  Album Review here

13. The Fatty Farmers (Spain) – At The Counter Bar  Facebook

14. Cheers! (Czech Republic)- Cliffs Of Galway  Facebook

15. Fox’n’Firkin (Australia)- 1788  Facebook

16. 1916 (USA)- Wild Rover  WebSite  Facebook

17. Bastards On Parade (Galicia)- Drunken Haze  Facebook

18. The Tossers (USA) – Here’s To A Drink With You  Facebook  WebSite  Album Review here

19. Irish Moutarde (Quebec)- Farewell to Drunkenness  Facebook  Review here  Interview

20. LochNesz (Hungary)- Have Another Whisky  Facebook

21. Brutus’ Daughters (Spain) – 6 Beers  Facebook

22. The Scally Cap Brats (Canada) – Dress Sharp, Drink Hard  Bandcamp

23. The Irish Rovers (Canada) – Drunken Sailor  Facebook 

if any links go dead leave a comment please leave a comment

YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE ALBUM BELOW

you can download Irish Pub Songs for free if you wish but there is also an option to donate to the Justice For The Craigavon 2 campaign that we support. Brendan McConville and John Paul Wootton have been locked up unjustly convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Any donations to the campaign go directly to the campaign. Their are other albums on the Bandcamp site available. To find out more information on this miscarriage of justice please visit

jftc2.com    www.facebook.com/JFTC2/

CLICK ON THE ALBUM SLEEVE BELOW

So there you have it. The CD clocks in at a whopping 70 minutes and and its not even dominated by North American bands with 15 countries represented on the compilation. It’s a ‘name your price’ download so anything at all is acceptable from nothing to whatever you can afford. So get downloading, put the kettle on or open a beer and get listening…

FACEBOOK CELTIC-PUNK GROUPS

like it or not but everything revolves around bloody Facebook these days so heres a shout out to the various FB celtic punk groups. we’ll add more as we become aware of them. have a look, join up and join the happy family…

Aussie Celtic Punk’s

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1403072399734251/

Australian Folk Punk Scene

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sydneyfolkpunkscene/

Mersey Celt Punks

https://www.facebook.com/MerseyCeltPunks/

Indonesian Celtic Punks-

https://www.facebook.com/groups/922538544450291/

Celtic Punk/Irish Folk Hungary-

https://www.facebook.com/groups/658636007488890/

Irish Punk Brazil-

https://www.facebook.com/groups/116715531739318/

Irish/Folk/Celtic Punk Italia-

https://www.facebook.com/groups/178051922237824/

Celtic Punk Scandinavia

https://www.facebook.com/celtic.sweden

Celtic-Punk Denmark

https://www.facebook.com/groups/227407707761/

Zaragoza Celtic Punks

https://www.facebook.com/groups/zaragozacelticpunks/

Celtic Rock France

https://www.facebook.com/pierre.pruvot.35

Irish Folk, Celtic Rock, Celtic Punk- Deutschland

https://www.facebook.com/groups/778438328847653/

Bretagne Celtic Punk

https://www.facebook.com/groups/259477114237059/

Celtic Punk Polska

https://www.facebook.com/celticpunkpl

Celtic Punk Rock Colombia

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Celtic-Punk-Rock-Colombia/201116253258714

Celticpunkrockers Paris

https://www.facebook.com/pages/CelticPunkrockers-Paris/157122170976789

Irish, Scottish, Celtic – Folk, Punk, Rock – Switzerland

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1615713988650179/

Celtic Folk Rock Music Czech Republic

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1605684316418943/

and lastly a big shout for ourselves

London Celtic Punks-

https://www.facebook.com/groups/306370667754/

https://www.facebook.com/londonceltpunx/

 

there’s also a few fanzine and radio station pages so will add them as I come across them too.

MacSlon’s Irish Pub Radio

https://www.facebook.com/MacSlonsRadio

Paddyrock Radio

https://www.facebook.com/paddyrockradio/

Celtic Folk Punk

https://www.facebook.com/celtic.folkpunk/

Shite’n’Onions

https://www.facebook.com/shitenonions/

copy and paste this around the place and lets get networking!

its absolutely dead easy to set up a group but if you do want a bit of advice ask any of the moderators of any of the above groups and I’m sure they’ll help you out. then let us know so we can add you to our list. if you want to be added then just leave a comment below.