ODDS’N’SODS. A CELTIC-PUNK ROUND UP JUNE 2022

Calling out around the world, Are you ready for a brand new beat? Summer’s here and the time is right, For dancing in the street… well maybe not!

Here’s another Odds’n’Sods. A whole load of Celtic-Punk entertainment from all the scene’s bands big and small, established or just starting out.

Irish music band from Ukraine! THE JOLLY’S performing Irish pub songs and traditional Celtic Folk in a modern setting. No one needs to know whats going on in their home country so do these guys a favour and send them some love and a like over on Facebook and YouTube. Their’s an recent interesting interview with Nick and Valerie Mazurenko from the band over at Irish Radio Canada worth checking out. Here’s a recent live stream they did just last week.

‘Learn To Play Celtic Punk (guitar) With Krakin’ Kellys !’ new video from Matthieu from one of the Celtic-Punk scenes best bands. Sadly for any English folk it’s in French but maybe you can get subtitles or something. STOP PRESS- Now with English subtitles!!

After a quiet couple of years (wasn’t everywhere?) the Hungarian Celtic-Punk scene has sprung into life again and JOLLY JACKERS have just released a new track and video.

Fans, like me!, of South Yorkshire based THE SILK ROAD were upset to hear that the lads are no more… but don’t despair Tich, Shaun and Neil have stuck together and formed a new band – ESTEN. The rhythm section remains the same and they are currently working on a new set of original songs including a few old Celtic-Punk favourites. You can send them over a ‘like’ on Facebook.

CHRIS GARD has a new video out. Didn’t dig up any information on him but it’s a really good tune and I was sure you folks would love it as well.

Brand new videos are flying out from THE RUMJACKS stable all the bloody time. Here’s the latest one with a track taken from the band’s recent split EP with Flatfoot 56.

Made In Dundee THE CUNDEEZ have a new album, Geez It, out soon scheduled for release in August and it features great track ‘On The Ran Dan’. Doesn’t seem like five minutes since their last knockout album so the bar is set high guys!

Belgian band THE LUCKY TROLLS have a new album out and it features this great version of the classic Irish Folk song ‘The Foggy Dew’. We’ll be reviewing this belter of an album in the next few days so don’t miss that!

Canadians THE DREADNOUGHTS just put out ‘Problem’ taken from their forthcoming new album Roll And Go coming June 24th! We will have the low down on it but if you can’t wait then get it on pre-release from Stomp Records.

More from one of the best and definitely one of my own personal favourite Celtic-Punk bands the KRAKIN’ KELLYS who put out a great live video, recorded on St. Patrick’s Day, for a new song ‘1985’. These guys vids are always entertaining!

Another personal favourite and occupying a completely different wing of Celtic-Punk are the Italian band BARDS FROM YESTERDAY. This is Irish trad music but with that Punk Rock feel to it. If only more Irish bands played trad like this!

London Celtic Punks fell for New Jersey bhoy SEAN TOBIN in a big way last year and great to hear he’s a new album out on June 10th. He’s a new 3-track single out called ‘Memorial Hall’. Have a listen over on Spotify and here’s a wee video he did for Kickstarter featuring Sean talking about how he got started and with some new and old tracks.

We missed this on May Day so if i remember we’ll give this another plug next year. FORFOCSEIC seem to be a one man project by Thom Dunn in good auld Boston, Mass. A bunch of trad Irish rebel songs given the ‘Boston. Mass.’ treatment including a couple of covers of the Murphys! Support new bands and new music folks!!

CRASH NOMADA (Sweden) – En Rispa I Evigheten

THE LUCKY TROLLS (Belguim) – Raised Fist And Rebel Songs (review on its way!)

HEATHEN APOSTLES (USA) – Bloodgrass Vol 3 & 4 (review coming…)

THE WATERBOYS (England) – All Souls Hill

TROLLFEST (Norway) – Flamingo Overlord

MUTABOR (Germany) – Rebel

BLACK TARTAN CLAN (Belguim / Spain) – Demo Sessions

Remember we can’t review it if we don’t hear it

There’s literally a bit of everything in the new single from Germany’s MUTABOR. Punk, Folk, Ska, Reggae, Grunge etc., etc., The track is taken off their new album Rebel and ‘dummheit’ is German for stupidity my wife tells me.

Blast from The Past is dedicated to bands, many of whom are no more, who put out great music but were never featured on these pages at the time. Usually they come with a free download link. From epic road songs to tear-stained tales of heartache, from Texas-style rockers to dark-humoured murder ballads, THE SWEARENGENS from Seattle, Washington, cover a lot of musical and emotional territory in their twisted attempt at reviving the glory days alt-country of Whiskeytown, The Jayhawks, Dwight Yoakam, Uncle Tupelo, and Steve Earle. You can download the album here on We Transfer for free or via the Bandcamp app for a small fee.

Indonesian Celtic-Punk band SKAROCKOI have a new single out this month. Wish some of these guys would include some links for the band or download…

New (to us anyway) raucous and rowdy Celtic-Punk from Italy that looks like a bloody fantastic time was had by all. Keep an eye out for ZECKYBOYS as they will be featured very soon!

Founded back in 1998 in Kansas THE ELDERS recently retired than just as quickly changed their minds again and this month played to a sold-out show on their ‘Well Alright Then’ reunion tour.

We are pleased to announce the first London Celtic Punks gig in a couple of years with Italian band DIRTY ARTICHOKES – the tidiest Celtic-Punk band in the Celtic-Punk scene – returning to town at the beginning of August and will be playing with THE LAGAN and ANTO MORRA, two artists popular on the London Irish music scene that sadly haven’t been able to play much of late. The gig will be at the Bird’s Nest in Deptford and all details are on the Facebook event. We have almost finalised plans to bring Florida’s #1 Irish band CLOVER’S REVENGE over to London in the Summer. Keep an eye out for details of that when they emerge.

ULTRABOMB staring Greg Norton of Hüsker Dü, Finny McConnell of The Mahones and Jamie Oliver of the U.K. Subs play the 229 in the west end of London on July 1st performing a mix of Husker Du, UK Subs, The Mahones and brand new material from their forthcoming album! News just in that our very own FEROCIOUS DOG will be supporting FLOGGING MOLLY on all their UK tour gigs during August. Now that’s 2 reasons to make sure you get a ticket!

If you like what we do then you can support us by checking out our online store. The Harp’n’Bones design is back in all sizes and on black or white shirts. Also we have new polo shirts, in all sizes, and some nifty woolly hats as well as the Green’n’White ‘Skully Cap’ ringer shirts. Click the link below for the full range of all our other tatt. Shirts, badges, stickers, flags, CD’s and fridge magnets all the discerning Celtic-Punk fan could ever need! Help keep Punk Celtic! https://the30492shop.fwscart.com/

Facebook is shit. Proper shit. That the world’s most ‘popular’ social media site has only 2/5 in the play app store says it all! It’s stranglehold on all forms of expression is not good and it’s great to see people leaving in droves. Don’t despair though if you are one of them as you can keep up with London Celtic Punks posts via our wee group on the phone app Telegram. Similar in style (but better and easier to use) to What’s App but completely free from outside interference. Join us on Telegram, don’t miss a single post and even receive the odd exclusive and special offer! https://t.me/londoncelticpunks/

Even though we hate it Facebook does supply the (very) occasional ray of sunshine so a shout out to some good friends of ours over on Facebook. The Dropkick Murphys- Fan Page and the Celtic Punk, Folk And Rock Fans are two of the best music forums on FB let alone Celtic-Punk. Ran By Fans For Fans just like you and me. Like and join in the fun!

A reminder too that we need your news so anything you would like to share with the rest of the Celtic-Punk scene send it onto us.

If you are new to the London Celtic Punks blog it is easy to subscribe / follow and never miss a post. Bands, promoters, record labels, venues send in any news to londoncelticpunks@hotmail.co.uk or via the Contact Us page.

ALBUM REVIEW: VARIOUS ARTISTS- ‘Wind From The Foreign Land- Indonesian Celtic Punk Compilation’ (2014)

superb

/sʊˈpɜːb; sjʊ-/

adjective

1. surpassingly good; excellent a superb actor

2. majestic or imposing a superb mansion

3. magnificently rich; luxurious the jubilee was celebrated with a superb banquet

Derived Forms

superbly, adverb

superbness, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Old French superbe, from Latin superbus distinguished, from super above

Well what to say about this album…? Well its an album of fourteen tracks from fourteen different celtic-punk bands from across INDONESIA. Aye, that’s right. Indonesia out there in the Indian ocean and a thousand or two miles from Australia. These facts alone should have every self respecting celtic-punk fan from across the globe racing to their computer screens to order copies. First a few facts about Indonesia… they gained independence from Holland pretty much straight after the second world war. Their language is Indonesian (that’s not as obvious as it sounds when a country has been invaded and colonized!). The country itself has a population of over 230 million and comprises nearly 13,500 different islands and for a country that is 87.2% muslim this diverse bunch of bands have certainly adopted some of celtic-punks better known subject matters, if you know what I mean…

: Panglima Kumbang

: Party Time

: Black Rawk Down

So now you know how worthy it all is the next question should be “is it any good?”. Well the answer to that is “yes its bloody brilliant”! As with all compilations there’s going to be some tracks you like better than others but this album really does showcase the Indonesian celtic-punk scene very well and everything from the albums production to the cover to the mix of songs and the order they’ve been put in has obviously been a labour of love for all involved and in fact the only fault i can pick with the whole thing is that one of favourite bands have included a ballad rather than a more punky song! You’ll be amazed at how well these guys’n’gals play their instruments and you can have hours of fun playing this for your mates getting them to guess what part of Ireland the bands are from!

Musically the fourteen tracks veer from everything from the Mollys to the Murphys to the Pogues and all points inbetween. Many sing in their own language which i love to hear, despite the obvious floor in not knowing what they’re singing about…Kicking off with a new band to me, Party Time, and great accordion and tin whistle led punk it is too. Traces too of what I can only suppose are Indonesian instruments and tunes. Unmistakable celtic-punk though with shouty lyrics and choruses. Panglima Kumbang are more north american sounding to these big ears, nothing wrong with that, with a more celtic-pop punk sound.

Skarockoi start with a brilliantly played mandolin and fiddle and a more traditional celtic punk vocal style. Heard these before and always been impressed by them. Billy The Kid I have a few tracks by and this fantastic ballad shows exactly how good musicians they are. Black Rawk Dog is fast paced fiddle and mando punk played at breakneck speed with gang vocals. Ciusquad and Dirty Glass, another band I have heard before, and we’re half way through the album and still waiting on a duff track. No sign yet! Dirty Glass provide one of the standout tracks and its the production on this track i’m most impressed by. Gang vocals, celtic and brass instruments melting together with yer punk perfectly in a proper celtic-punk classic tune. Charlie’s Rum And The Chaplain are a band I only recently picked up on and are definitely one of the scenes leading bands. Starting off slow before heading to a more traditional fast paced tune and another of the standout tracks. Rain In Summer sound like The Pogues in their heyday with an acoustic punk song that soon turns into a proper celtic punk belter. Jeralax is another beautifully played ballad about whiskey. This track could be any of the scenes greatest bands to be honest. The Barley Hops I have also come across as well and they don’t disappoint either. Another standout track and followed by The Working Class Symphony who are quite simply a superb band. See definition at beginning of the review. Very accomplished musicians with great songs and vocals. Lots of instruments and band members but in the perfect production nothing is out of place or too loud or too quiet. Super Mario start with a bit of a DKM piss take and a great song follows.

Finally the last track and the band we’ve been waiting for. The Cloves And The Tobacco (a kind of cigarette i’m told!) are arguably the best known of the Indonesian celtic-punk bands and they bring the curtain down on this great album with ‘The Indian Ocean’ the standout standout track. We can forget sometimes that we’re not the only sea faring race and in a country of over 13,500 islands these guys know their sea shanties. This album is, to put it as simple as i can, faultless. Great bands and great songs. Each one is worthy of following up on and each deserves to be as famous as any of the scene’s leading lights.