If you ask me, the name McGnarly’s Rant perfectly fits the style of this music like a glove. Let’s just say with all the influences they have, you can tell this band is from the Pacific Northwest. (Victoria, B.C. Canada) The music is like celtic-polka-punk with groovy jazz feel that growls at you like a wounded wild animal from time to time. Or ‘Circus Punk’. A lot of chaos is going on within the tracks of this debut album. From the ska beat of “Fisherman’s Pride” to the gypsy groove of “The Circus”. Or the country-punk of “Malcom’s Mourn”. The fiddle is very solid throughout the entire album and the drums and bass provide a nice backbone, that can change from mild to aggressive at any moment. The mandolin and guitar compliment the possessed vocals to form a very original sounding band.

Put together the evil gypsy clown sounds of The Dolomites, with the acoustic-punk of The Filthy Thieving Bastards, to a wee bit of ska and jazz, and it might explain the sound of McGnarley’s Rant. Or maybe you could get the album yerself and see what the fuss is about. You can order the CD through Paypal at their very cool website or better yet, see them live and get it directly from the band, and ask them why the hell all those t-shirts only come in L, and not XL!

April 2002

By Brian Gillespie