Drunk Rock review on Folk and Faith
THE BLOODY IRISH BOYS
"Drunk Rock" - Sick Sad - CD
Calling themselves 'a drinking group
with a singing problem,' and mixing blue grass, punk rock, and that
traditional Irish pub song feel, The Bloody Irish Boys jam out some
of the best songs in a genre that stands on its own two feet.
Paying respect to heritage and culture in a time when such
ideals are frowned upon by the musical establishment and society in
general; these guys belly up to the bar with the best of the Irish
musicians and punk rock bands in my book.
Bands like this are a rare find these
days, with songs that will make you want to pour yourself a tall
glass of Guinness stout and sing along they provide some really great
music that has found a permanent home in my cd player the past few
weeks.
Some of the more memorable songs on the cd that you
come across are:
"Standing With Me" - a song
dedicated to singer Shayne Underwood's banjo pickin' grandpa. The feel
behind this song is nothing short of amazing.
"Theres many things that I forgot through my life
But there's one thing that wont leave
Thats the memory of my grandpa standing in that old house
Playing that old six string."
-Standing with me - the Bloody Irish Boys
It has that traditional Irish sound to it and makes you feel the sort
of bond that grandpa and grandkids ought to have, and at the same
time makes you want to get up off your bar stool raise your glass, do
a jig and sing right along!
Being that this cd has been played
non-stop since I got it, the kids tell me "Play 'the grandpa
song' again" and do their damnedest to try and imitate what they
figure an Irish jig must look like. Leave it to the pure mind of a
child to let you know when you've found a good song and a great
sounding band and they surely will!
Their rendition of
Finnegan's Wake is fantastic and is a great reminder of the past and
the ties and traditions that bind one to their ancestors even
today.
Songs that are deserving of the REPEAT TRACK button on
my cd player are the cover of Highlanders Farewell and their own
amazing hymn "The Great Irish Famine". The latter one details the
plight of the Irish that left their Fatherland for that of America on
'the coffin ships' to escape the Irish famine brought on by
Imperialists of England.
Singer Shayne Underwood's unique
sounding voice makes one feel the pain and emotion of the times and
hope that many a youth of Irish and European descent will pick up the
cd and that it might be the thing that brings them back to their
roots.
"I send out a prayer to all you brave men
Who lost your lives back then
I send out a prayer to bless your souls
..
I send out a prayer to all you brave men
Who lost your lives back then
I send out a prayer for the suffer to cease
So you may rest in peace
May God be with you all."
: The Great Irish Famine - The Bloody Irish Boys
This is a cd you won't want to pass by and what's more, its
full of heritage inspired tunes, songs about good beer (what more
could you ask for?)
and done completely without the aide of million
dollar band contracts and budgets. In fact, Shayne Underwood maintains
the job requirements of singer/song writer, website designer,
apparently 'official cd shipper' as he had wrote a thank you note
inside my cd for the order and likely, official Guinness Stout picker
upper as well. Good luck getting any of your fancy mainstream
rockstar bands to do anything like that on their own much less sing
about anything meaningfull.
I can't see this band staying unsigned and
indpendantly ran for too long. It will surely only be a matter of time
before they join their contemporaries of Dropkick Murphies and Flogging
Molly amongst others of this Folk Punk genre, and another band that
deserves it more I don't know!
Support the cultural revolution, support the underground music scene and bands that
have the courage to sing traditional Irish/Folk ballads in a time where
most youth of today couldn't even tell you what the word 'heritage' means or has to do with them,
let alone what the 'Great Irish Famine' was...
Thanks to The Bloody Irish Boys, I have found my new favourite
band and a cd to play on top of "my usual" consisting
mostly of Dropkick Murphies and Flogging Molly anymore.
and get the cd from them at:
