Things have been a bit quiet on the Aussie Celtic-Punk scene of late but just like buses prepare for some of the best Celtic-Punk in town with todays offering from Shambolics and the new EP from The Ramshackle Army coming soon.
Shambolics (there’s no The!) hail from Adelaide which is the capital city of South Australia (and yes they do a knock out version and play good auld fashioned Poguesy style Irish Celt’n’Roll. The sort of tunes you are just as likely to hear at your local Irish centre with yer Nan as well as at a Punk gig at some rundown dive. Formed out of the ashes of another Celtic-Punk band, The Gartloney Rats, they have featured here in the past with reviews of their debut release the six-track EP Pogue Mahone (in gaelic ‘póg mo thóin’) which is of course the Irish for ‘kiss my arse’ and also the original name of The Pogues (until the Brit media realised what it meant and made them change it!). The Pogues reference fits Shambolics well as unlike the majority of Aussie Celtic-Punk bands they follow a much more folkier path than. Well that was 214 and two years later came there debut album Riot On Race Day with ten original songs from rollickin’ Celtic-Punk to Country and spaghetti western.
“A love and respect for folk music but which is never afraid to take it and shake it and give it a nudge up to the modern day”.
So it’s been a good few years that the Bhoys have graced the pages of London Celtic Punks not that they haven’t been busy and their regular updates have shown a band that gigs regularly in and out of town and is more than a little well known overseas too.
The new track ‘Goin Off’ takes Celtic-Punk into the realm of Surf-Rock and a sorta Irish take on both the Beach Boys and The Ramones. Catchy and totally different but yet unmistakably Shambolics still. Written by frontman Jimmy I hope this heralds a new wave of releases from the band as they have been sorely missed. The song is available for just a measly single dollar so support Celtic-Punk musicians in these shitty times.
We never shut the feck up about how brilliant Australian celtic-punk is so we are pleased as punch to present to you this interview with Gareth from the Celtic Punkcast radio show. He gives the lowdown on who the movers and shakers are over there, what its like living in the bush and a whole lot more.
“The best Celtic punk, Celtic rock & folk punk from around the world on this podcast”
Right we have always said that the Australian celtic-punk scene is the best in the world and that the bands in it are as well. When any idea how the celtic-punk scene started in Oz? Who were the first bands, the first concerts or festivals. Who from overseas made the biggest impact? It’s a pretty good scene over here that’s for sure. We definitely have some world class acts here in Australia. When it comes to Celtic Punk I guess it’d be artists like Roaring Jack who got the scene going here, they were contemporaries of bands like The Pogues and The Men They Couldn’t Hang. There’s always been a strong folk and celtic scene here, bands such as Claymore who wouldn’t necessarily slot into that Celtic punk pigeonhole have been playing trad influenced music at places like the Port Fairy Folk Festival for years and they help introduce Celtic music to larger audiences. As for overseas bands that have made big impacts, obviously The Pogues were and still are really well known and popular and bands like the Dropkick Murphys are massive worldwide. The Murphys have had a couple of tunes used by the Australian Football League as well. Most people know Flogging Molly as well. In terms of influence, I’d say The Dubliners had just as bigger influence as anyone though, especially when it came to people staying in touch with their roots via music.
(We asked Gareth to pick the three best videos to represent Aussie celtic-punk and his first choice was ‘Riot On Race Day by Shambolics)
Who are the main players in the scene at the moment? Are you all missing The Rumjacks? Oh yeah, we definitely are missing them! Honestly I didn’t realise how big The Rumjacks are outside of Australia. Probably after them would be The Go Set, The Ramshackle Army and even artists like The Dead Maggies do a great job holding down their part of the world. It’s been great to see some Oz bands get over to the states in recent years as well as over here too. In fact we see more of you then we do American bands!
The massive distances between cities in Australia must cause lots of problems for touring and networking but does this also mean that you have developed a certain sound or way for each area independent of each other? Interesting question and one I probably don’t have the knowledge to answer. I think that social media and the internet in general makes networking so much easier. Anyone can find bands in any part of the world which is very cool. As for touring, I don’t really know, might have to ask Benny Mayhem about that one, he’s a Perth lad! Funny enough it was Benny himself who told me that when he was over in the summer!
You run a Celtic-punk radio show? Whats the deal behind that? How does it work? Give us an idiot proof way to listen to it. Well the easiest way to listen is to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or follow on Podbean. Most podcast catchers have it on there though. Podcasts are great because of the convenience of them, you can listen whenever and wherever you want. The other way to catch the show is the weekly show on Blues & Roots Radio, which is a fairly large online radio network. Putting together a one hour podcast/weekly radio show usually takes me a couple of hours, between getting music sorted, the actual recording, editing and post production. Once I’ve done all that the podcast gets uploaded which can take about 30 minutes to an hour depending on whether Podbean is being cooperative or not. The weekly radio show when it’s done gets sent to Stevie Conner, who’s the head of BRR in Toronto and he slots it into the schedule. My show is meant to merely be a showcase for the bands who make such great music and there was a bit of an opening for another Celtic punk podcast. There was already some awesome shows like Paddy Rock, Irish Power Hour and the Shite’n’Onions podcast, so if I could complement them I’d be stoked.
How did you get into celtic-punk? Do you have Celtic ancestors. A hell of a lot of Aussies do so do they make up the bulk of your audience? Like most people my age it was probably the Dropkick Murphys who were my gateway band to the genre. First song I heard was The Warriors Code on a compilation CD and it just pumped me right up. From there I discovered bands like Flogging Molly, Flatfoot 56, Blood Or Whiskey and The Tossers who are probably my favourite band. I do have Celtic ancestry, my family came to Australia from Kernow (Cornwall) and I also have Welsh in there too. My wife’s heritage is Irish and Scottish so my kids almost have the Celtic crescent covered! As for the audience, it’s really a mixed bag, some from Australia, a lot in North America and some from the UK & Europe. Anyone who wants to listen is more than welcome wherever they’re from.
You’re based in Victoria but is there much of an Irish community there? People say that the Irish diaspora is smaller but has there been a noticeable decline, especially with emigration from Ireland still at peak levels? It does seem to me that here in London the new arrivals are not interested in Irish music. They seem to be wealthier and emigrating for ‘fun’ and in their gaps year rather than to escape poverty like in the past. I am a Victorian, I live on a property about 200km west of Melbourne, in the Grampians. Spectacular part of the world. Where I live has a population of between 350-500 people, so only a wee place. Some parts of the state like the south west you really notice the Irish influence, especially in towns like Koroit, Casterton and Killarney. Koroit and Killarney both have yearly Irish festivals. We still see a lot of Irish people come to Australia, but mainly backpackers or students. The Irish mates I have for the most part are fans of Celtic punk, and they all still have that appreciation for the trad stuff too which is cool. It’s when it comes to shite like Ed Sheeran I call them out!
Gareth’s back garden!
I would like to think so but does it follow that celtic-punk fans also listen to folk from the past or present? Honestly, I reckon it depends on the individual. If they come from families that played that sort of music when they were growing up then they probably do, but perhaps people who were punk fans first may not necessarily listen to folk or trad. But if they don’t then I’d encourage them to give it a go, there’s some great bands out there playing folk and trad.
Which figures or bands do you think have been the important links between the past and the present and folk/celtic/traditional music and punk/rock music? I think the standard answer would be The Pogues, who no doubt have been extremely influential on a number of bands, but I’d say you’d be looking at bands like The Dubliners, The Wolfe Tones etc who were the ones that bands like The Pogues were listening to. Even bands like The Clash that embraced different styles of music and had success with it. There’s probably plenty of unsung heroes as well, like the venues that gave some of the bands that become legends in the Celtic Punk scene starts when they were just beginning.
(Gareth’s second Aussie celt-punk BIG hitter is a new song from The Bottlers)
There’s always been a big debate about celtic-punk and whether or not it is cultural appropriation and politically correct for non-Irish bands singing about the Irish getting pissed and fighting and pubs and what have you. Personally I love it. The idea of the likes of Indonesian or Brazilian bands getting into The Dubliners and The Wolfe Tones after listening to the Dropkick Murphys. I mean its not like The Dubliners ever wrote a song about getting pissed is it? I think its just a case of snobbery but do you think it’s ok? It doesn’t bother me too much at all, especially if it teaches people a bit about the history of the Celtic nations and Celtic people. It also helps keep the culture alive, if people from South America or Eastern Europe for example are inspired to take up the pipes or tin whistle after listening to the Murphys or Flogging Molly then that’s great. I get some people’s issues if all they see is the drink and fight stereotypes getting perpetuated or if it comes off like that faux Celtic Irish pub stuff that The Rumjacks described so perfectly but for me if people are respectful of the music and culture and they learn a thing or two then great. Honestly I’d love more people to know the Celtic history of my Cornish heritage, so if people dive in further and expand their knowledge how could that be a bad thing? Totally agree. The ideas behind ‘cultural appropriation is bad’ can be dangerous. That people cannot share cultures or even haircuts is absurd or maybe it’s just that we Celts have thicker skins?
Gareth with Jimmy from Shambolics
As we said many times we really love the Aussie take on celtic-punk. What do you think sets it apart from the celtic-punk of say the North America or Britain? It seems to have a very strong working class ethos and a Aussie slant that I can’t quite put my finger on but involves having fun and being serious at the same time, being full of mischief and after all any country that calls mates cunts and cunts mates is not half bad! Interestingly enough I spoke a bit about this with Jimmy from the Shambolics not too long ago, he’s an Irishman who has lived in Australia for a long time and played in bush bands when he was living in rural areas. Australia has a long Celtic history, we the Celts were the ones brought out here after English colonisation and built the framework of what became Australia. They didn’t have the musical instruments from home, so they had to make do and create instruments like the bottle cap stick. They created a fusion of traditional style music with instruments created from necessity which became the bush bands that still survive in a small way today. The Australian way was we were a people who always kind of thumbed our nose at authority, enjoyed a laugh but would stand up for our mates and believed in the fair go. That spirit lives on in in the Celtic and folk punk music that comes out of this country. We as Australian people have had different experiences to people in North America and Europe and it shows in the music. When my wife was in Australia in her teens she said that she saw parliament on the TV and the MP’s were swearing at each other. That tells you what kind of place it is. My kind of place!
Celtic-punk nowadays. It seems to us that the scene over there is massive. There does seem to be more bands than before. Is this right is the scene bigger? If it is bigger has that made it more commercial/mainstream? No I don’t think it has. Outside a couple of bands like the Dropkick Murphys and The Pogues you get blank responses to other bands. Outside the Celtic Punk scene in Australia a band like The Rumjacks are pretty well unheard of by the mainstream. Although I did hear a Go Set song on an ad the other night during the cricket so who knows?
the friendly neighbourhood wallaby
Who do you think are the best Australian bands and their best records? The ‘essential’ place to start in Aussie celtic-punk? Well for me, I really like The Rumjacks, The Go Set, Shambolics, The Currency, The Bottlers, The Ramshackle Army, The Dead Maggies and Benny Mayhem. If people were looking for some Australian Celtic Punk albums I’d start with the Rumjacks debut ‘Gangs Of New Holland’, man that is a fecking fantastic album. Also, ‘Rising’ by The Go Set, ‘Riot On Raceday’ by The Shambolics and the new album from The Bottlers. My three year old daughter also told me to mention the Pogue Mahone album by the Shambos too, she has a meltdown if that CD gets changed in the car!
Any Aussie links you would recommend? Honestly the best thing to do would be to check out the websites, twitter feeds and Facebook pages of some of the bands. The Triple J Unearthed site also has some good unsigned artists, just search for Celtic Punk on there and discover something new.
(Gareth’s third video this time from The Go Set who have darkened these shores many a time and each time with a growing fan base)
We are just about to publish our Best Of list for 2017 so what were your favourite releases of the year? Any you looking forward to in the coming months? Man last year was a great year for albums in these genres, any year you have new albums from most of the big guns like the Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, The Tossers, The Real Mackenzies, Flatfoot 56 etc is a bloody good year, but my favourite release for 2017 was ‘In It For Life’ by Black Anemone. That was a kick arse album. Loved the new Tossers album as well as the ones released by The Kilmaine Saints, The Peelers, Matilda’s Scoundrels, Craic, Dreadnoughts and The Bottlers. The new Real McKenzies album was great too. For 2018 I’m looking forward to the new album from 1916 and the new stuff The Mahones are releasing. Four new albums this year apparently! Yeah plenty of bands there that feature in our Best Of 2017. Stay tuned!
Thanks for taking time out of your schedule so all that’s left is for you to plug plug plug the Radio show and is there anything else you want to add or anyone you want to thank? Been my pleasure chatting to you guys, thanks for your support of the show, I really appreciate it. So subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and leave a review or hit me up on Twitter, Facebook or email me. Check out the schedule on Blues And Roots Radio as well to see the weekly shows schedule. I’d love to thank anyone who’s listened, chatted, shared the show and supported it, especially the bands who’ve supported the show as well as Stevie, Annie and Neil from BRR for giving the show a bigger audience and of course London Celtic Punks, Waldo from the Celtic & Folk Punk blog, the Mersey Celtic Punks, shout out to big fans Peter, Erin and Jennie and to anyone I’ve forgotten sorry. Oh and of course my wife and two girls. Can’t forget them.
You can listen to the latest January edition of the Celtic Punkcast at the link below. Simply cli for just over an hour of the best Celtic-Punk of the past and the present.
To find previous editions visit the web-site click the link
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 2016. 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 twenty-five 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…
TOP 25 CELTIC PUNK ALBUMS
1. THE RUMJACKS (Australia)-‘Sleepin’Rough’ Review
2. THE NARROWBACKS (New York)- ‘Arrogance & Ignorance’ Review
3. THE CLOVES AND THE TOBACCO (Indonesia)- ‘Across The Horizon’ Review
4. MICKEY RICKSHAW (Boston)- ‘Behind The Eight Ball’ Review
Absolutely no surprise here at all. For the first time we had an unanimous vote from all the admin’s that sees The Rumjacks sail away with the #1 spot for the second year running. It’s been an outstanding year for the Bhoys and with an American tour on the horizon they about to take another giant step in their campaign of world domination! Other notables were NYC’s Narrowbacks whose second album really showed the depth of their songwriting and could just have easily won the folk/trad best of too! The Cloves And The Tobacco deserve plaudits galore in another fantastic year for Indonesian celtic punk bands while Mickey Rickshaw could probably be said to have won the ‘unified title’ across all the various celtic-punk sites. In all we have twenty five bands from fourteen countries including USA x 6, Australia x 3, Indonesia x2, Germany x2, Netherlands x2, Catalonia x 2, Scotland, Italy, Sweden, Brazil, Spain, Czech Republic, Russia and Belarus with The Wakes being the only Celtic country based band which goes to show how international the scene has become.
6. THE CLAN (Italy)- ‘All In The Name Of Folk’ Review
24. RUSTY NAIL (USA)- ‘Bitter Ale, Bitter Heart’ Review
25. THE LANGER’S BALL (USA)- ‘Whiskey Outlaws’ Review
A special mention here to the ever prolific and always a pleasurable experience The Mahones who released a greatest hits entitled The Very Best: 25 Years Of Irish Punk which couldn’t be included in the Top 25 but if it did would have given The Rumjacks a run for their money!
TOP TEN CELTIC PUNK EP’S
1. MICK O’TOOLE (England)- ‘A Working Class Battalion’ Review
2. THE RAMSHACKLE ARMY (Australia)- ‘Whitewashed Graves’ Review
With The Rumjacks returning a year later to sweep the Album Of The Year it’s no surprise then that Wiltshire lads Mick O’Toole follow up last year’s win in the EP Of The Year awards to do the same thing. A great year for them that has seen them play less and less within the celtic-punk scene and really start to make waves outside of it. A foreign tour and more support slots to various punk rock legends than most bands play in a lifetime and all in the space of twelve months. The Ramshackle Army EP got lost in the post leaving us to do a rush-job review and given time I’m sure they may have given the O’Toole’s a run for their money. Drunken Fairy Tales impressed everyone and Matilda’s vinyl only release deserve a mention as well Mick O’Toole grabbing the 5th spot too.
Possibly the hardest Best Of List of them all to do is this one as so many releases cross over the genres between rock and punk and folk and trad but our good friend Anto Morra, the ‘London Irish folk-punker’, just edging it from The Logues with his superb tribute to the 1916 Easter Rising. Mickey Rickshaw swept to third with their specially recorded acoustic EP that came out for their European tour and ShamRocks put out an album of high quality and original Irish folk with imagination galore. A special mention for Blackwater Banshee whose EP came out later in the year and shows enormous promise and one or two original songs would have seen a much higher position I am sure.
Now this has over the years become the Celtic Folk Punk And More Top Celtic Punk Web-Site award so often has that esteemed site walked away with the top spot but there’s a new kid on the block and this year we are happy to award top spot to our good mates over at Mersey Celt Punks. They only kicked off the site a few months ago but super regular postings on all manner of celtic-punkness has seen them triumphant. You can join their fun over at Twitter and Facebook and we heartily recommend you do. A special mention here also for Viva La XV another new kid on the block which looks amazing but sadly as none of us can read Spanish we can’t tell if it’s as good as it looks! We’re sure it is and you can check it out for yourselves at the Blog or over on Facebook.
Right now the details. The Best Of lists were cajoled and bullied out of the four admins on the London Celtic Punks Facebook page. The various scraps of crumpled paper were received and then tallied up over several pints of Guinness in Mannions in north London while watching the football on the telly.
We are now in our fourth year of doing these Best Of lists so if you would like to have a look at the previous years best in celtic-punk then click the link below the relevant year.
remember any views or comments we would love to hear them…
Only one more thing to mention about 2016 and that is to remember here Erik Petersen the lead singer of the influential folk-punk band Mischief Brew who sadly passed away earlier this year. I still find it hard to believe that he has gone but he will always be commemorated.
“So tattoo our arms and raise our glasses, call out your name at New Year’s Eve, maybe next time we kneel at a casket, we can say at least the story’s complete”
Read our obituary for Erik hereand raise a glass the next time you get the chance to.
Rest In Peace comrade.
Sláinte, The London Celtic Punks Crew- January, 2017
“In SouthAustralia I was born, heave away, haul away In SouthAustralia, ’round Cape Horn, we’re bound for South Australia”
…Ten original songs from rollickin’ celtic punk to country and spaghetti western…and beyond!
One of the biggest dangers of doing a site like this is that there are only so many ways you can describe something and if that something is something that you love it is near impossible to hold back and not go overboard about it! Now regular readers will know that when it comes to Australian celtic-punk we turn into a blubbering mess. Well if that gets on your nerves then skip this review as it is yet another fantastic album release from down under that we are going to rave on and on and on about!
Hot on the heels of the review of the new fellow Aussies Rumjacks album earlier in the week itss the new long player from Shambolics (there’s no The!) who hail from Adelaide which is the capital city of South Australia and they play good auld fashioned Poguesy style Irish celt’n’roll tunes. Formed out of the ashes of a previous celtic-punk band called The Gartloney Rats they featured on these pages once before back in June, 2014 when we reviewed their debut EP (here) titled ‘Pogue Mahone’ (in gaelic ‘póg mo thóin’) which is, of course, the Irish for Kiss my Arse and also the name The Pogues began with till the Brit media realised what it meant and made them change it! The Pogues reference fits Shambolics well as almost uniquely, to me anyway, they adhere to a much more folkier sound then their Australian celtic-punk counterparts. Most Aussie bands you would generally call punk rather than folk so Shambolics stand pretty much alone doing what they do and they are doing it as well as anyone else across the globe. A trio consisting of an Irishman, an Englishman and a Russian you would hardly tell there’s no drummer either.
Jimmy on Banjo (Irish) * Alan on Guitar (English) * Paul on Accordion (Russian)
The album kicks off with the title song ‘Riot On Race Day’ and you get a feel for The Shambolics and what they are about from the first few seconds.
This is good time music for jigging about and going off on one after a few jars in the pub. Sure it’s folk but the kind of folk that would have the purists running away from and the punk rockers running to!
“There’s a riot on race day the Shambos beat them all
Played all day and never did stall
Music started they couldn’t stand still
There’s a riot on race day way down at Morphettville”
The second track is ‘Banshee’ and my favourite on the album. As catchy as feck and a real good tune with a whole host of instruments jumping out of you. Now gotta add that the production is here is absolutely spot on. All them instruments sound perfect and compliment each other so well done to Gavin O’Loghlen and the Bhoys for that.
‘Hell On Wheels’ slows it right down showing a different side to Shambolics and reminds me of Hell’s Ditch Pogues with a real cowboy banjo driving the song along. We are back with another slower song next with ‘Grace Of God’ and a word here for Alan’s vocals that portray both the funnier side of Shambolics as well as those songs more from the other side of the tracks. To be sure its not all piss taking and when they need to pull out a serious one his voice portrays perfectly with his deep raspy cigarette laden Irish accent doing a great job altogether.
“So with pockets full of holes, as are my worn out shoes
I feel the cobbled stones along the lanes
As I fall into a bar, and I hear a poor man singing
I drink my beer and share the poor man’s shame”
That Hell’s Ditch banjo is back with ‘Preacher’s Daughter’ and again the band nail it and chase that with ‘Stand Me Up’ that begin’s with one of my favourite instruments in celtic-punk the harmonica. A slight rock’n’roll flavour to this reminding me again of Shane with The Popes this time. Again a classic already and a song I’ll still playing in the months to come. ‘Go Wan Go Wan Go Wan!’ takes me back to summer holidays and slave labour on a farm in south Tipperary during the school holidays where your only reward would be a coke and crisps in the evening in a pub full of men talking about the price of milk.
“Ger Up the Yard, Ger Up the Yard, Smell of Hay about yer Person”
‘World Away’ slows again and you know I could see the appeal of Shambolics from 8-80 here. That sort of downtrodden thing that the Irish sometimes have in song fits in great here when placed up against some of the more upbeat and jolly songs. After all as much as we love those songs where we can leap around like maniacs and shout ourselves silly we also need songs where we can hold our loved ones and strangers and tell the word who we are while raising our glasses high.
“Travel the world, I was told, would make me a man
All the four corners, I’ve sailed and come back again
Always reminding myself wherever I roam
Someday my journey will soon, be calling me home”
‘Truck Of Lurve’ is classic Shambolics with some utterly hilarious bits within it and then finally Riot On Race Day comes to an end with the superbly fantastic ‘Shambo Blessing (Good Luck to you)’.
“May the road rise up to meet ya, may the wind be at your back
May the horse that has yer money be the first around the track
May the love you have inside ya never wither never die
May you live long and forever have a twinkle in your eye
So good luck to you
Good luck to you”
I think sometimes it would be easy to judge The Shambolics as a sort of jokey band thanks to the cartoon record sleeves (done by regular Shambolics collaborator Mark Mathieson) and aye admittedly sometimes jokey lyrics but sometimes they can pull a song like this out of their ass and it all makes perfect sense.
“May your pint glass never empty, and yer pockets always full
May you never get a knock back, cos you know she never will
May you wander free and easy, and you never have to hide
And you wake up in the morning to a rasher and a ride
So good luck to you
Good luck to you”
So their you have it. Ten original tracks that will certainly get the blood racing that were all written by Alan and Jim of the band. I can have nothing but high praise for this album. From beginning to end it encapsulates everything I love about celtic-punk. A love and respect for folk music but which is never afraid to take it and shake it and give it a nudge up to the modern day. If the spirit of The Pogues still lives on in any band then by Christ then that band is Shambolics! Go Wan Go Wan Go Wan!
(have a sneaky free listen to Riot On Race Day by pressing play on the Bandcamp player below before you buy it!)
raucous roots music, with tunes from Dublin Bay to Vladivostokk
Are you getting sick of us banging on about how good Aussie celtic-punk bands are? Well turn away now as here’s another bloody one! The Shambolics hail from Adelaide, the capital city of south Australia, and play good auld rollicking Irish celtic’n’roll tunes. Formed out of the ashes of previous celtic-punk band The Gartloney Rats they’ve just recorded and released their first EP titled ‘Pogue Mahone’ (in gaelic ‘póg mo thóin’) which is, of course, the Irish for Kiss my Arse and also the name The Pogues began with till the Brit media realised what it meant and made them change it! Six tracks and twenty five minutes means it could also pass as an album but this gang of Irish-Adelaidean’s have called it a EP so that’s that.
The opening track is ‘Pogue Mahone’ and sets the standard for all that follows. Accordion, mandolin, bagpipes, bodhran, tin whistles, banjo plus yer usual instruments kick up a storm in a Poguesy tale of a loser who dont give a shit.
“If my Pogue Mahone offends you…Pogue Mahone”
While the bands sense of humour is quite evident on the EP The Shambolics prove they can tell a decent story too with ‘Halfway Inn’ about the pros and cons of gigging in purgatory. Third track ‘Only You’ can best be described as a kinda bitter Irish reggae love song. I really love the sound of the harmonica in celtic-punk and The Shambolics use it well on all the tracks. ‘Seven Seas’ begins with the tune of ‘Rattlin Bog’ and shows these bhoys can certainly play their instruments. A story of sailing and drinking, close yer eyes and it could be the Pogues until Jim’s Aussie accent starts up. On first listen to ‘Why Try To Change Me?’, with the accordion to the fore, it could almost be one of them Irish showband’s yer Mam likes but last song ‘Filfee Feevin Bastards’ soon pops along and reminds ya never to let her hear this CD if she has delicate ears!
“They’re scurrilous rapscallions and unscrupulous to boot
they leave a tale of destruction and think its just a hoot
To get you into bed they’d pretend to forever stay
They’re filthy thieving bastards
and they’ll steal your heart away”
Comes in a real nice CD package with a 8-page booklet with all the lyrics included and a wicked drawing of the band on the back in which they look like they going to kick someone’s arse! Completely unpolished and a thousand times better for it. Instead you get a crystal clear recording with all the instruments combining together and nothing overpowering each other. The Shambolics play Pogues inspired celtic-folk punk and are no doubt an absolute blast to catch live while they aint too shabby on CD either. Gigging relentlessly around their home state their honing their playing skills so a long player ought to be along soon but in the meantime we’re happy enough, for now, to make do with this mini one.
How did you get into celtic-punk? Do you have Celtic ancestors. A hell of a lot of Aussies do so do they make up the bulk of your audience? Like most people my age it was probably the Dropkick Murphys who were my gateway band to the genre. First song I heard was The Warriors Code on a compilation CD and it just pumped me right up. From there I discovered bands like Flogging Molly, Flatfoot 56, Blood Or Whiskey and The Tossers who are probably my favourite band. I do have Celtic ancestry, my family came to Australia from Kernow (Cornwall) and I also have Welsh in there too. My wife’s heritage is Irish and Scottish so my kids almost have the Celtic crescent covered! As for the audience, it’s really a mixed bag, some from Australia, a lot in North America and some from the UK & Europe. Anyone who wants to listen is more than welcome wherever they’re from.
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