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.
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
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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
I first came across them on their 2016 album Old School. It never made the reviews here as it was a couple of years old by then but I was impressed and have kept up with them since waiting for a chance to make things right. That album was, as far as I am aware, all traditional folk songs from North America and back Ireland and home to Italy. Internationally renowned songs like ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘Waltzing Matilda’ go up against classic Celtic songs like ‘The Foggy Dew’ and the ‘Fields Of Athenry’ and a rake of songs that I had never heard before. The new EP, Of Pain And Glory, carries on in the same vein except with one exception all the songs are penned by the band. Beginning with ‘A Whisper From My Cigarette’ and it’s classic Celtic-Punk. Loud and bombastic and massive. The song is not particularly fast but catchy and tuneful while Andrea sings out the lyrics, no doubt through a cloud of cigarette smoke! His voice is so raspy he makes Tom Waits sound like the singer in a boy-band. Accordion and tin-whistle grab you here until mid-way when the song suddenly shoots up in tempo. An excellent start that leads into ‘Glasgow Town’ and this is no ordinary Celtic-Punk band as witnessed by the sound of a saxophone wailing away in the background.
Andy the Celtic Punk Author
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