It’s that time of year again for the London Celtic Punks annual Best Of list. Has it really been a year since The Peelers waltzed (or should that be jigged) off with album of the year? It’s been possibly the best year for Celtic-Punk since we started doing this site and this was easily the closest it has ever been in that time. Pretty much all the big hitters, with one or two one notable exception (The Tossers where were you!), released records and on top of that a bunch of debut albums that were top class too.
so without further ado…
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2022’s #1 was the amazing new album from THE MAHONES. That they are as prolific as they are and yet can still put out quality like this 30 + years on is incredible. Well done Finny & co. FLOGGING MOLLY won the battle of the big Celtic-Punk 2 with the DROPKICKS and were also the best gig of the year for me personally (August in Dublin with Ferocious Dog). THE LUCKY TROLLS followed on from their Best EP award from 2019 with the highest place for any ‘outsider’ this year while Scandinavian stalwarts SIR REG gave us possibly their best album yet. REINA ROJA from Spain were another highly placed new band and their were several others among the Top 30. Their were also a handful of albums that didn’t qualify for the chart but were worth noting including a couple of greatest hits albums THE REAL McKENZIES – Float Me Boat and UNCLE BARD AND THE DIRTY BASTARDS – The Story So Far that were both superb introductions to the bands, the second volume of the Black 47 covers compilation AFTER HOURS VOL. 2 and finally the HEADSTICKS 10th anniversary album of the best songs of their career to date re-recorded.
1. THE MAHONES – Jameson Street
2. FLOGGING MOLLY – Anthem
3. DROPKICK MURPHYS – This Machine Still Kills Fascists
4. THE LUCKY TROLLS – Raised Fist And Rebel Songs
5. SIR REG – Kings Of Sweet Feck All
6. REINA ROJA – Hooligan Folk
7. FINNEGAN’S HELL – One Finger Salute
8. REAL McKENZIES – Songs Of The Highlands, Songs Of The Sea
9. HOIST THE COLOURS – When Daylight Breaks
10. SHANGHAI TREASON – Shanghai Treason
11. PADDY’S PUNK – With Full Horse
12. THE TAN AND SOBER GENTLEMEN – Regressive Folk Music
13. ZECKYBOYS – Dirty Brands
14. THE MOORINGS – March On
15. THE MULLINS – Gold In Our Hands
16. PADDY AND THE RATS – From Wasteland To Wonderland
17. SYR – Sentinel
18. MAN THE LIFEBOATS – Soul Of Albion
19. THE GROGGY DOGS – Still Groggin’
20. WHISKEY’S WAKE – Wake Up Whiskey
21. JAMIE CLARKE’S PERFECT – Monkey See Monkey Do
22. O’HAMSTERS – From Green Hills To Raging Sea
23. SLAINTE – Up Down 95
24. THE ENDINGS – Completely Pickled
25. THE CUNDEEZ – Geez It
26. THE ROYAL SPUDS – Roots Of Life
27. THE DREADNOUGHTS – Roll And Go
28. THE SCARLET – Freedom Call
29. TEMPLARS OF DOOM – Rising Of The Doom!
30. DRUNKEN FIGHTERS – Someday
Bubbling over: THEIGNS AND THRALLS – Theigns And Thralls
As funny as it may seem the Best Debut Album award for 2022 was decided way back in January last year when the long awaited self titled debut album from Yorkshire banjo Punks SHANGHAI TREASON arrived in the post. Eleven original songs of high tempo energetic Celtic-Punk with some of the best banjo we heard all year long! On top of that later in the year they released a 3-track EP of songs that didn’t make the album that was also superb! That’s not to say it was a easy choice as by the end of the year REINA ROJA, THE LUCKY TROLLS and ZECKYBOYS all put out albums that challenged the Treason and in any other year could easily have won the award themselves.
A well deserved top two for THE RUMJACKS and their new singer Mikee. The split EP with FLATFOOT 56 in particular was absolutely flawless! Their were fantastic debut releases from THE DEAD IRISH, THE GALLOWGATE MURDERS and THE RAMSTAMPITS out of the Celtic nations of Ireland and Scotland that completely blew us away and were eagerly anticipated. A word here for BOG IRON from California who I found completely by accident and been playing ever since.
1. THE RUMJACKS / FLATFOOT 56 Split EP
2. THE RUMJACKS – Brass For Gold
3. THE DEAD IRISH – Four Corners Of Hell
4. THE GALLOWGATE MURDERS – ‘ Dead, Gone And Living On’
5. BRICK TOP BLAGGERS – Obey The Tyrant
6. BOG IRON – Star Of The County Down
7. DISTILLERY RATS – We Are Rats
8. THE KILLIGANS – Dread Naught
9. KRAKIN’ KELLYS – Old Ways New Days
10. THE RAMSTAMPITS – Light The Beacon
Bubbling Under: THE CLOVERHEARTS – Still Pissed / JAMESTOWN BROTHERS – Just Is
In what is usually the hardest category to choose from we actually had a very easy choice this year with the new album from Boston singer-songwriter BRYAN McPHERSON never off our play list all year long. The great news is that Bryan is heading to these shores in the Summer and we are very happy to be helping out. Dundalk’s THE MARY WALLOPERS were busy all year round and ended 2022 with a sell out London show and a debut album in December. The debut album from THE WINTER CODES saw a welcome return to the wider music scene for Barney the original vocalist for Blood Or Whiskey. Some may be surprised to find the first solo album from MARCUS MUMFORD listed but it really was a great album both musically but especially lyrically.
1. BRYAN McPHERSON – How To Draw Everything
2. THE MARY WALLOPERS – The Mary Wallopers
3. OYSTERBAND – Read The Sky
4. IAN PROWSE – One Hand On The Starry Plough
5. PRONGHORN – Welcome To Pronghorn Country
6. BODH’AKTAN – Valcourt Sessions
7. BURBRIDGE AND BOOTH – Icons
8. THE WINTER CODES – Set The Darkness Reeling
9. THE ALT – Day Is Come
10. MARCUS MUMFORD – (self-titled)
A new section this year and the first winner is THE OUTCAST CREW out of Laois in the Irish midlands. A new single and video directed, filmed and edited by Thomas Moyles that came out at the end of the Summer. Laois is famous for an abbey, some gardens, a castle and a couple of lakes and now a kickarse class Celtic-Celtic-Punk. They won the 2020 Celtic Punk debut album of the year and it’s about time we heard some more guys!
The competition for best Celtic-Punk video of the year was incredible so next year (which will be our 10th anniversary) we will make a bit more effort and maybe even include you in the decision!!
There were several people involved in the collation of these results and so it is that some of those people may not have heard every album listed or released through the year. If you’re album is not listed maybe you didn’t send it us or not all the folks here heard it so couldn’t give a opinion so really don’t feel too put out. We’re not perfect but we do try our best.
This is the ninth year we’ve been doing these Best Of lists. It seems incredible looking back at some of the previous winners and also-ran’s just how many bands are still with us from Year 1. Have a look for yourselves just click on the year below to redirect.
* 2013 * 2014 * 2015 * 2016 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2020 * 2021 *
THE LONDON CELTIC PUNKS SHOP
If you like what we do then why not visit our shop where you can buy all manner of Celtic-Punk tatt including t-shirts, badges, stickers, CD’s, fridge magnets, patches, Celtic nations flags and we just got in new for ’22 some bobble hats and polo shirts.
https://the30492shop.fwscart.com/
Alongside the Best Of polls we also run a special Readers Choice poll where you get to pick your favourite release of the year. This will be the fifth year it’s been running with Krakin’ Kellys, Mickey Rickshaw, The Go-Set and Ferocious Dog our previously champions! Last year we had well over 1500 votes (the most ever!) so remember the auld Irish adage ‘Vote Early – Vote Often’. There is only room on the form to list the Top Ten albums but there is an option for YOU to write in your favourite release (album or EP) of the year.
Poll will run until midnight on Tuesday 31st January 2023. You can vote twice. If the release you want to vote for is not listed then you can write it in.
https://linktr.ee/londoncelticpunks
to subscribe to the web-zine email londoncelticpunk@hotmail.co.uk
The poll will close at midnight on Tuesday 31st January 2023 with the result to be announced soon afterwards.
Dedicated to our good friend Scott Chrystal
Slainte, The London Celtic Punks Bhoys – January 2023
On first play this album reminded me of a Celtic-Punk version of Bad Religion and now several months later I can confirm that’s exactly what it is! One of the better known of the North American Celtic-Punk bands Hoist The Colors come from the urban metropolis Los Angeles and formed in 2008 when they realised they could get free drinks for bashing out a few songs in their local dive. Eventually they would grow into a six piece and become a staple of the US Celtic-Punk scene having played with all the big hitters several times and festivals galore. With a crossover appeal to both Celts and Punks their brand of fast, catchy, Punk and Folk mixed with Working Class American roots and politics has made them one of the top bands around. With three albums behind them, the last being Mourners back in 2016, When Daylight Breaks sees them continue their success.
For the review of their last album fellow American Irish accordion maestro TC Costello mused that as most Celtic-Punk band members are extremely talented they cannot help but let this shine through on their recordings giving them a polished feel even when to the intention isn’t to do so. That the Templars Of Doom play homage to the racket of early Brit Punk-Rock from the era known as UK82 comes through loud and very very clear on Rising Of The Doom. This is the bands third album and all have followed a similar style with wailing vocals and thrashy guitar, bass and drums. Chuck in the sound of extremely well played bagpipes and Irish republicanism and you have the sound that has seen the Templars become known and respected across the Celtic-Punk scene. During the lockdown we were privileged to have them play a live stream from their home in the aptly named Ulster Couty, New York onto our Facebook page that was watched live by over 2000 Folk-Punk folk.
Formed in 2011 this band from Quebec this prolific band have appeared on these pages throughout our existence. Five studio albums in as well as a bunch of other releases have shown them to be among the continents most innovative and original Celtic-Punk bands. Unafraid to take on traditional Folk music one minute and then rock proper hard the next Bodh’aktan answered the call of the Covid pandemic meeting in September, 2021 and over the weekend locked themselves into studio B-12, in the small town of Valcourt, to record an acoustic session. All of the the ten songs here have already been recorded by the band and appeared on album already but the style and radical interpretations of these songs lift them into another space completely. Sounding like they were recorded in a bar in one take a lot of the session has already been released on You Tube and from watching them it is self evident that the joyful and energetic music we’re listening to comes from the fact that the band are really enjoying themselves.
Dyed-in-the-wool Boston-area blue collar Punk-Rock legend and icon Lenny Lashley has some CV having been a long time member and guitarist of both the Street Dogs and Dropkick Murphys as well as several other bands including the respected Darkbuster. 2022 sees him return under the moniker of Lenny Lashley’s Gang Of One for the the release of debut single ‘It Got So Dark’ which was taken from Five Great Egrets. This is his third solo album and having missed the first two I can’t say if they were indeed solo but here Lenny comes bursting out the blocks with ‘Not Sorry’ backed by a full band. His band includes members of Joe Sirios of The Mighty Mighty BossToneS, Tim Brennan of the Dropkick Murphys, Johnny Rioux from the Street Dogs), C.J. Ramone, Pete Steinkopf of The Bouncing Souls and together they certainly deliver the goods. The message is no regrets (or even no egrets!) and never look back.
Bodh’aktan formed in Québec in 2011 and they have released several acclaimed albums. Regular visitors to Europe, especially, of course, France they are yet to visit the Irish and British isles but as their fame spreads I’m sure it is only a matter of time. The vast majority of their releases have been in their native tongue but they have also had the novel idea of re-recording a couple of albums into English for their Anglo fans. Their new album De Temps Et De Vents has been recorded in French or as one reviewer hilariously described it as a
The album begins with the short ‘Ouverture’ a Celtic-Punk heavy intro which starts with drums but with the rest of the band joining in at intervals building up and up and leading straight into ‘Capitaine Deux-Cennes’. My first impression is that Alexandre Richard has a fine voice that really jollies the music along during the fast songs but can also wrap itself around a ballad too. The music is reminiscent of Flogging Molly with its high tempo danceable style. For the album Bodh’aktan added a fiddler and Marc-Etienne Richard’s work is pure excellent shining alongside the rest of the band. Hopefully he will become a permanent fixture. Only a couple of songs in and you are already left with the impression this is the type of album that is for celebrating along to. The tempo does change from time to time with ‘L’orage’ for example when the bagpipes add a sorrowful side to the song. It’s the first ‘slower’ song but played with a heaviness that belies its speed. ‘L’amer’ is a straight up rock number and also one of the highlights of the album with a ‘Wo-Ho-Oh’ chorus that is just ripe for roaring along to!
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