“Pins” the debut CD from Boston based Godboxer is an outstanding slab of alternative rock. 7 tracks of powerful, passionate vocals, in you face guitars and a reverence for 60’s rock – especially The Who – and most importantly catchy, melodic, hook laden songs. “Beautiful And Young” is a alternative radio hit waiting to happen. If you’re a fan of The Pixies or U2 at their most extreme, check this out.
May 2003
And now something from the world music section of your local punk rock music store. Oi! n’Ast are a very excellent and very original street-rock band from the ancient Celtic kingdom of Asturies (now part of modern Spain – though a place with a strong nationalistic spirit and Celtic identity – Asturies was one of the few area of the Iberian Peninsula not to be conquered by the Moors) who combine first class street punk ala The Business and early Dropkick Murphys with the riffing of Angus and Malcom Young and the traditional sounds of their homeland including Astonian Bagpipes (more melodic then the Scottish with an almost Eastern sound). The vocals are rough and gruff and in all in Astuines. I’m told the lyrics deal with Astonian culture, anti-racism and Hardcore solidarity. A great CD that would give 99% of English speaking Steet Punk a run for it’s money plus with the added bonus of something fresh and original sounding. So if you like your Punk Rock with bag pipes……
May 2003
This has my vote for the best Irish-Folk-Punk album of the year. Everything else I hear in 2003, will have to battle for runner-up.
That previous statement, is basically all I have to tell you. Seriously. All you have to know is The Tossers have released the best album all year. “Purgatory” blew me off my barstool the first time I heard it. (and I only had drank a single pint!) Purgatory will make you laugh out loud, and then shed a tear into your beer. It will make you jump up and dance, then toast a pint with your lads. It’s an album for all occasions, social, or solo, and in this reviewers opinion, it’s the strongest Tossers album to date, and should get the recognition it deserves.
Lyrically, it’s bold, political, and brutally honest. Songs like “The Squall” asks bold questions about the U.S. involvement in the Middle East, (oil, anyone?) and offers honest complaints. The track “Chicago” is more or less autobiographical, and speaks about numerous social issues in South Chicago. With lyrics like “Wear your wallet like a sieve, and that’s where all the gangsters live, Chicago, Chicago, it’s where we can afford to live.” or “I like to get my beer and sit on me front step out by the store. Hangin’ out where white folks fear to tread, yeah, this is my home for sure!” In case you’re wondering, South Chicago is home to one of the largest Irish populations outside of Ireland itself. (Which means, typically, & historically, it’s in a rough fucking part of town.)
Musically, the album is just as impressive, with tracks like my personal favorite, “Minutes On A Screen”, with it’s orchestrated buildup of strings, drums, and vocals, or “Time To Go” (a speed-jig,) they leave you pounding the bar with your fist, in complete agreement. On the last couple of tracks things begin to chill out, with a solo fiddle jam, and on the song “Going Away” which was a welcome surprise. It’s an old-timely folk number, relying heavy on the pluck of the banjo, and the soothing soft fiddle. It leaves you with a feeling like you’re sittin’ on a country porch, in the middle of a session, drinkin’ moonshine, and bourbon, in yer dirty overalls.
Don’t forget about the hidden track! A traditional ditty, “The Parting Glass” is played with respect, using only a fiddle, and vocals.
I finished my pint, once the album was over. As I grabbed the album from the barkeep, he said, “Once again, You walk in with a band I’ve never heard of, and once you walk out, it’s a band I don’t want to forget!” (as he scribbles the band’s name on a beer coaster.)
It’s The Tossers, ladies and gentlemen. The Tossers.
May 2003
Review By Brian “Tosspot” Gillespie
It’s a big year in Mahoneland. The Mahones have just released “Paint The Town Red” a collection of greatest hits, and a live album “Live At The Horseshoe” What more do you need to know? If you don’t have these recordings, you damn well should! In my opinion, The Mahones are one of the top bands in my entire CD collection. If you’re familiar with The Mahones, I’m sure they are one of the top bands in your collection as well.
I’ll admit, I have not seen them live. Trust me, I can’t wait until they head this way again, beacause I will be the first one there! Since I haven’t seen them live, the next best thing for me to do is hear a recording of them live. That’s what I have in front of me right now. The Mahones “Live At The Horseshoe”. It was recorded on September 15th, & 16th, 2000, in the mighty town of Toronto, Canada. It’s a good mix of early stuff from 1994’s “Draggin’ The Days”, 1996’s “Rise Again”, and from 2001’s underrated album, “Here Comes Lucky”. I think only one song from the “Hellfire Club Sessions” is on it, but I could be wrong. The music is tight, the lyrics are right on, and the recording itself is clear as a bell. Nice one!
Track listing:
1. Paint The Town Red
2. Rise Again
3. Drunken Night In Dublin
4. Rose & Crown
5. Shake Hands With The Devil
6. Across The USA
7. Going Back To Dublin
8. Whiskey Devils
9. 100 Bucks
10. Drunken Lazy Bastards
11. Is This Bar Open
May 2003
Review By Brian Gillespie
I never heard of Casey Neill before this 7″ arrived at my door and man was I missing something big. The a-side is the tradition “Raleigh & Spencer” and the b-side the Irish ballad “The Blue Tar Road”. Just try to imagine the sound of Johnny Cash with the attitude of Mike Ness and the intensity of Ed Hamell. Feckin Great!
May 2003
As you can see by the name, these guys enjoy The Pogues. The Kissers, who call that funky college town Madison Wisconsin home, recorded a live album at O’kayz Corral.(a local pub that recently burned down.) Containing 14 tracks (11 originals, 2 Traditional, and a cover of “The Auld Triangle”), the album leans heavy on the Celtic Rock side of things, and generally sounds like everyone involved had a great time. The album has been around awhile,(2001) I just never reviewed it because…Well, let’s just say I lost the CD for a while!! After digging though random shite around the house, I found it, fired up the CD player and gave it a listen. When half of the band have music majors from the University of Wisconsin, you know those Madison locals are having a blast up there in Cheeseland. Just try not to burn down any pubs guys! The band is currently finishing up on a new studio album, so if you have an idea for a name, send it to the band.
May 2003
Review By Brian “Not Another Nickname” Gillespie
Can anyone say Mall Rat??
I got this sampler at the Real McKenzies show, the sampler is a good idea, but 2 out of the 4 bands on the sampler just don’t really work for me. Tracks 1 and 2 are from the no-good, power-popping Mad Caddies. The only half-decent thing is the horns, and I’ll leave it at that. Tracks 3 and 4 are from Chicago’s Rise Against, which is pretty good for what it is – A melodic punk band who are always on tour. I’ve been told these guys are straight edge, so touring with the ever-so-drunk Real McKenzies must be a total blast for those guys!! Ha! Which brings me to the best band on the sampler by a fucking mile. The Real McKenzies have a new album coming out May 20th, it’s going to be called “Ooot & Aboot”. A great title that contains two choice words that every single American uses to make fun of that Canadian accent. One song from the new album is “Get Lost” and sounds like Fat Mike from NOFX may have been involved. In fact I know he was.(He is always saying The Real Mac’s are the best live band he has ever seen!) It’s fast, & catchy, and I like it, but where’s the bagpipes guys? Track 6 is “Lassie/Roamin’ in The Gloamin” from 2001’s “Loch’d & Loaded”. The last two tracks are from The Flipsides and pretty much sounds like Green Day. Not much more to comment on after a Green Day comparison. I’ve got a great idea for the next Fat Wreck Chords Sampler/Tour. Keep The Real McKenzies on the bill, give the Mad Caddies, & Flipsides, the boot. Add some Swingin’ Utters, maybe even some old Propagandi, or Sick Of It All.
May 2003
Review by Brian “anti-emo” Gillespie
Now for something a little bit more mainstream then the stuff we usually review here. Maine’s Rocktopus have been mentioned more then once in the same breath as Barenaked Ladies and from my perspective I think this is a little bit unfair to Rocktopus. Sure they draw from the same well of inspiration as BNL (The Beatles and Beach Boys) but infuses much more of a rock energy giving Rocktopus a sound full of youthful vigor and an Oomph to their music that BNL never had.
May 2003
“I am of Ireland…Come dance with me in Ireland.”
So W.B. Yeats proclaims in the linear notes of Henry Marten’s Ghost’s CD of Irish ballads. Yeats is a good figurehead for the disc itself, as both share common traits –dramatic, airy, heroic, poetic and fully of Ireland.
A talented bunch, HMG were formed by Belfast’s Padraig Lalor, who is the singer and guitarist, and Nick Gray, who was/is(?) the fiddler. They added Polish born fiddler Piotr Jordan and mandolinist Chris Knipe to the mix and off they went. Presently, Gray doesn’t seem to be performing with the band, but it seems they have added Maire McSorely as a bodhran player to the bunch. And a talented bunch they are.
As you should be able to tell by the title, this isn’t a collection of Irish punk cum rock-n-roll rave-ups, it traditional balladry at it’s finest. Along the lines of The Wolfe Tones meets Solas or something to that effect – while not as rowdy as the Dubliners, it still produces the same amount of emotion and response.
As explanation for the group’s name – Henry Marten was, as is told in the notes, an Englishmen who supported the Irish cause during Cromwell’s invasions. He was subsequently tried for treason and imprisoned. And something of the disc seems to represent him, too – seems to conjure his spirit. At times, these ballads seem ghostly, almost otherworldly, as if Mr. Marten himself placed a long gone cold hand on the music, and made it more – something that transcends a simple tune. The music of HMG raises these ghosts and images of the land itself – a land where, as the song says “legends remain” and the impossible seems possible – if you only believe…..
This disc contains 11 ballads, all done very professionally; ranking this band among the most talented of the genre, complete with that resounding sadness that cascades through these songs like a Donegal fog – a sadness that is present in all the best of the form. Favorites like “Spancil Hill” “Carrickfergus” and “Back Home in Derry” all make their mark with resplendent style that is HMG. My favorite cut is probably “The Galway Shawl.” Melancholy and haunting – this simple tale of unrealized love represents the band at it’s best – nothing is overstated. It simply is done powerfully and with much emotion. Back to the basics. I’d like to hear what HMG can do with a jig – so I’ll be investigating their other albums as soon as possible. HMG have established themselves over the years as among Ireland’s finest balladeers and this disc cements this rep. So pick this up when you are in the mood to be transported back to the Ireland of old – of tales told round the fire while banshees dance ‘round the windows, of crashing waves against rocky coasts – and find solace in the arms of the past with HMG.
May 2003
By Sean Holland
The Spunk Lads are the original UK punk band! Formed in early ’76 and inspired by the underground sounds coming out of America at the time (Iggy and the Stooges, The New York Dolls and of course the Ramones) and combining this with the Dub, Reggae and Ska sounds from the Jamaican streets of London and a love of 60’s Brit pop. The Spunk Lads EXPLODED onto the mid 70’s British rock scene like nothing before them.
So dangerous was their music at the time the establishment (the government, MI5, MI6 and some boring old rock star farts like Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page and Rod Stewart) conspired to destroy the band at ANY COST. Only one gig was ever played (Joe Strummer was rumored to have been bar tending that night) and only one single ever released (Johnny Rotten supposedly has bought up and destroyed every existing copy right down to the master it was pressed from. And even all copies of the issue of Sounds that ran the review – NME couldn’t be bothered to review it ‘cos they had dedicated that weeks edition entirely to the Yes album about to be released) before the boys were sinisterly kidnaped by rouge elements of the government intent on keeping the realm safe for the Queens upcoming jubilee celebration and protect the rights of the boring old farts to produce twaddle.
Frozen Austin Power style and shipped to Brooklyn, NY and hidden in a secret CIA warehouse, this is where the boys remained frozen till ‘01 when an accidental meltdown resulted in their thaw, revival and escape into the streets of Brooklyn. The boys are back, bitter and pissed off and have put this to vinyl and recorded the album that should have been the great British punk record.
PS I made up most the above (honest!) but if you are looking for a great punk rock record in the vein of “Never Mind the Bollox” or the debut Clash album with a ton of black humor and tongue in cheek then you’ll love this. Best songs – “Iron Lady”, about Maggie Thatchers seaside holiday and “Spunk Lads don’t Swim”, about Rolling Stones who don’t swim either.
May 2003
Shite'n'Onions 