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

EP REVIEW: THE ROYAL SPUDS- ‘Unforgotten Lore’ (2018)

They may have the strangest name in Celtic-Punk but Dutch band The Royal Spuds can also play a mean tune as evidenced on their fourth studio production, a brand new EP, titled Unforgotten Lore.

Wherever these guys got their name from I do not know but since their formation back in 2012 The royal Spuds have been pushing their version of Spud-Rock to the masses. It is certainly true that growing up in a Irish household you do come to the conclusion that the potato is king! Both their debut album Wanted Drunk and Alive and It’s A Feckin’ Freakshow were voted into the Top 10 and 20 over at Irish Pub Radio as well as reaching the heights in the Celtic-Folk-Punk site lists as well.

(have a listen to It’s A Feckin’ Freakshow on the Bandcamp player below)

The boys have toured the length and breadth of the Netherlands and played most of the alternative festivals the country has to offer. They have even managed a tour of Ireland in 2015 and in 2017 ventured further afield across Europe and as they say

“just like any salty spud, once you have had a taste of their powerful music, you will be left craving for more”.

The Royal Spuds are of course available for gigs, festivals and concerts in the Netherlands and abroad.

Coming out in the gap between Christmas Day and New Years Day Forgotten Lore may not have been blessed the most perfect release date but they celebrated it well with a bumper sell-out gig in their home town. The EP begins with ‘The Arrival’ one of several songs here penned by lead singer Maarten. It is cut from the same cloth as the recent upsurge in acapello singing of songs like ‘Old Maui’. The sound of chains and the ocean with the boys belting out the chorus of “Unforgotten Lore”. The song comes to an abrupt end and we are straight into ‘I’m Too Old For This’ and some fast paced melodic Celtic-Punk. The bends in Europe certainly love their flute and though I was late to realise that I actually liked it in Celtic-Punk I am most definitely a convert to it now and Mickey’s playing is superb. Chuck in a guitar solo as well as accordion, banjo and mandolin and we off to an absolute flyer. Needless to say Maarten’s vocals are as clear as the proverbial bell and his English as good (indeed better!) as any English speaking band you’ll find. Next up is the EP’s first cover song. The band have chosen well with ‘Johnny Jump Up’, a lively energetic trad Irish folk song that may surprise some in that it only dates from the 70’s. The song tells of an Cork man who gets in a whole load of trouble thanks to drinking too much extra-extra-strong cider. It’s a popular song on the circuit and deservedly so and The Royal Spuds do it justice.

“So if ever you go down to Cork by the sea
Stay out of the ale house and take it from me
If you want to stay sane don’t you dare take a sup
Of that devil drink cider called Johnny Jump Up”

Its played fast but with a style that would impress both folkies and punkers. ‘The Man’ is one of my favourites here and exposes in me what it is so good about Celtic-Punk generally. I find myself drawn to both the folky ballads and fast punk songs and ‘The Man’ is the closest they come to a ballad here, though not really that close really. Catchy and based somewhat, but no means exclusively, on the auld Pogues number ‘I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Everyday’ it’s a great wee number with all the Celtic instruments coming together beautifully with the vocal chords of the band getting a nice work out with the ‘OOOOOhhhhh’ chorus. The song speeds up at the end with a really nice Irish folk flourish showing these guys know wht they about. A more traditional Celtic-Punker follows with ‘Alley In Killarney’ a drinking song about getting lashed in Kerry. Mickey is back with accordion this time, the talented bastard!, and Maarten gives it a bit extra with the vocals. A cracker of a tune.

Too often Celtic-Punk is though to be only about the music of Irealnd and Scotland but their are seven Celtic nations and The Royal Spuds visit there next with the ‘Tri Martolod’. A traditional Breton song dated back to the 1800’s in Lower Brittany. Made famous by it’s recording by the famous Breton harpist Alan Stivell in the 1970’s. The Royal Spuds version is utterly fantastic and the highlight of the album for me. At a whopping six and a half minutes the song is given time to develop and not once do you start to tire of it. Beginning with a 70’s Folk-Rock vibe the song twists and turns even with time to inject a touch of ska into it. All the songs on Unforgotten Lore are sung in perfect in English and while we don’t mind that it’s not something that matters so was nice to hear the story of three young sailors who leave Brittany for Newfoundland and find love sung in it’s absolutely perfect native Breton! The EP ends with the jolly ‘The Last Wild Haggis’ and they go out on another high with a song about that elusive Scots creature the haggis. While the song almost punks out the band rein it in a bit stopping just short but another cracking song and given over five minutes to evolve.

Their has always been a fantastic scene in the Netherlands and while the bands there do share some similarities they are all different enough to survive independently. The Royal Spuds are on the folkier side of things while still having more than enough punk to keep us all happy. An excellent EP that impressed me no end and to have a song in a Celtic language has even impressed me that bit more!

Discography

Start Your Engines EP (2012) * Wanted: Drunk ‘n’ Alive (2013) * It’s a Feckin’ Freakshow (2015)

Buy Unforgotten Lore

Download (-Apple/Spotify/Google/Deezer etc.,) For physical CD’s contact the band

Contact The Royal Spuds

WebSite  Facebook  Twitter  YouTube  Bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: McSCALLYWAG- ‘Dirty Water’ (2017)

Celebrate the good life with Dutch celtic-punkers McScallywags. Influenced by traditional Irish folk music, sea-shanties and good ol’ drinking songs McScallywag are on a mission to put a smile on everyone’s face!

Got this album in the post from Waldo over at Celtic Folk Punk And More web-site (always worth checking out here) but with such a backlog of reviews its taken me till now to have a listen and I’m kicking myself for waiting so long!

McScallywag describe their sound as “Dropkick Murphys meets The Pogues” and while live they they provide a healthy mix of classic traditional Irish folk songs and McScallywag originals here on Dirty Water they gone for the originals approach with every song one they have penned themselves. The band are based in the Dutch city of Groningen, an area of the Netherlands renowned for its music and arts. Formed in 2013 when local hardcore punk band De Klootviolen parted ways with their vocalist and the rest of the band decided to continue but in a completely different direction. Armed with new instruments they continue to blaze their way through life celebrating their love for that life through alcohol and folk music. The Dutch scene is particularly strong at the moment with such great bands as Circle J and Bunch Of Bastards , who have both featured on these pages extensively as well as touring these shores, as well as the likes of LQR, Drunken Dolly and The Royal Spuds who we are hoping to catch up with at LQR’s ’10 Pinter’ festival next January.

McScallywag left to right: Tom Kootstra– Guitar, Vocals * Frodo Bosma– Accordion *  Ruud Platje– Drums, Vocals *  Arian Sikkens– Banjo, Mandolin, Vocals * Peter Janssen – Bass Guitar * Talitha Barelds– Cello, Vocals * Ashley Buitenwerf– Guitar, Vocals. Not in picture Sebastiaan Hidding– Violin

So what do we get here. As I say its nine original songs so that is already a plus in my eyes and the whole album comes in just shy of half an hour. the album starts with ‘Billy’s Curse’ and you not sure which way the album’s going with acoustic guitar and accordion swirling round while Arian’s voice sings out both tunefully and strong. The song doesn’t get much faster but does get louder and you can hear the cello here and it sounds great. Not yer typical celtic-punk instrument but all the better for that. Needless to say of course that Billy’s curse was in fact alcohol! ‘Days of Travel’ is up next and the band start to show what they can do here. Fast and furious acoustic celtic-punk party music. Stop and start fast music that owes much to hardcore punk in many ways.

The video gives you a great example of what McScallywag do. That they are acoustic, except for bass guitar, is incredible and reminds me of what was said about The Pogues that they were louder than any punk band! next up is ‘The Road’ and a real Poguesy feel to this. A slow ballad that speeds up near the end with gang vocals and is a real catchy foot-tapper. Some great positive lyrics here too that had me belting out the words in me living room.

So get up while you can, stand up and be a man.

Cuz there’s no such a thing as getting old,

you’ve got to live it up while you can.

So even when this world is at its darkest,

And your just clinging and holding on to that light.

You’ll find again and again that when your drinking with friends,

you’re gonna make it through the night,

shining bright”

Definitely one of the album highlights without a doubt. ‘Letter to Megan’ is about a subject that crops up quite often in celtic-punk. Hopefully as a warning to others? Screwing up your life and hurting the ones you love. The song starts off slow before bursting into life and ending in typical celtic-punk fashion and while the video below shows the song done to perfection it is annoying hearing people talking throughout BUT…

this is music for the live setting and McScallywag come into their own live from what I can see. That’s not to say that they haven’t managed to transfer that sound onto disc as they have done a brilliant job here and the production is perfect. ‘St. Paddy’s Anthem’ is up now and McScallywag’s tribute to that day where indeed

“It’s Saint Paddy’s anthem keep singing along,
as loud as you can, cuz tonight, everybody is an Irishman!”

Great vocals here and as loud a song as any on Dirty Water. Close your eyes and you can forget your not still listening to De Klootviolen and a band containing banjo, accordion, cello and mandolin.

“And the pubs around the corner there,

said: open all night.

There was Dropkick Murphys on the jukebox,

shouting, drinking what a sight.

They passed me down a bottle, and I bought a round of beer.

We raised our glass to the drinking class,

and we all sang and cheered”

This is hardcore punk-folk! Then  we have ‘Eye of the Storm’ and a dramatic shift in style with cello-player Talitha taking over vocal duties for a slow ballad about losing your love at sea. The mandolin accompanies her beautiful voice in a very under stated song where you can smell the salt air. ‘Ashes to Ashes’ is another stand out track for me. As I often say man cannot live on punk rock alone and he needs to slow down occasionally. It’s good for the soul. Vocals are shared again by Talitha and Arian and this is the moment on the album where you must raise your pint to the air. Every half decent celtic-punk album must have one and this is it. Love this song. We nearing the end of Dirty Water and ‘Whiskey I Love You’ is a singalong/clappalong folky number with gang vocals and a catchy chorus. Think Dropkicks ‘Boys On The Docks’ and you’ve got it. The album wraps up with ‘Johnny Went Away’ and it’s more of that stop and start hardcore folk that I love. The mandolin is in overdrive and the band all join in on vocals and bring the curtain down leaving me out of breath!

Having always been a fan of punk music it’s really refreshing to hear a folk band play as though they were a punk band. Its mostly very fast but incredibly tuneful and still folky despite the speed it’s played. They don’t sound like any of the scene’s favoured bands which is something I have said before about Dutch celtic-punk groups and that is something special. A great debut album and a band to watch out for. All the lyrics are on the bands web site (here) and are well worth a look while you listen to the album.

(have a free listen to Dirty Water below)

Buy Dirty Water iTunes

Contact McScallywag WebSite  Facebook  Soundcloud  Instagram  YouTube

(not quite a full length concert but great video with good sound)

LQR’s ’10 PINTER’ FESTIVAL 2017

10 PINTER FESTIVAL- Bladen, Netherlands

Saturday 14th January 2017

Last Saturday, Dutch folk punk band LQR (Liquor) celebrated their 10th anniversary with their own ’10 PINTER’ festival at Grand Café De Baron. At the entrance to the gig was a festival banner and a sign that says

“Tonight only: 10 PINTER (10%) – Limited Edition”

That’s right! LQR has their own beer. A blond Triple Grand Cru, and of course it’s named after their last CD ’10 Pinter’. They have their own LQR-coins specially made for the festival. No detail is spared, everywhere you look you see LQR on shirts, coasters, beer bottles etc. There’s even a bowl with pink M&M’s (with LQR on it) backstage.

10 Pinter Beer Logo

The evening kicked off with the band Daisy Chain. Four ladies on guitar, banjo, bass and violin who play bluegrass in English, French and Dutch. Great opener! At the end of their set LQR jump on stage and join in and together they play a nice version of Dropkick Murphy’s ‘Rose Tattoo’. Meanwhile the place is absolutely packed and LQR start their set with ‘Muffins and Coffins’, normally the last song of a LQR gig. The set includes mostly up-tempo songs out of the 10 years of LQR. Halfway the set, accordion player Arjan calls on the audience to grab their phone’s and to film their next song, ‘Mis Amigos’, and send it to LQR’s e-mail address. The same trick they did in 2015 for the video of ‘Leprechauns’ which can be found at the end of this review.  The crowd goes mad when they play Gogol Bordello’s  ‘Start Wearing Purple’, which is always a personal favourite of the band. After over an hour they finish their performance with two Flogging Molly covers, ‘Black Friday Rule’ and ‘Salty Dog’. The crowd loves it! Next one up are the Hillbilly Moonshiners. A cover band who play pop and rock songs in bluegrass style. Hilarious is their version of Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’. An energetic set from the lads is driving people insane and there is a LOT of dancing going on. It is possible that some of it is influenced by 10 Pinter beer I’m sure! The last band of the night is LQR’s fellow Dutch celtic-punkers The Royal Spuds. They surely know how to party! The band keeps the energy level high with some great songs from their 2015 album It’s a Feckin’ Freakshow along with some older material and a few covers. At the end of the night LQR members Mark and Arjan join the Spuds for their last two songs, ‘Drunken Lullabies’ and ‘What’s Left of the Flag’, both Flogging Molly covers.

A great first edition and a roaring success that will certainly will have a sequel in 2018.

Contact LQR

Facebook  WebSite  Bandcamp  Soundcloud  YouTube  Twitter  Google+

• You can read our reviews of LQR’s great 2015 EP A Touch Of Liquor here and their even better 2016 album 10 Pinter here.