Dropkick Murphys – For The People (Dummy Luck/PIAS)
Boston Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys (that’s a Celtic Punk band from Boston, not a punk band made up of the Boston Celtics – I really hope I was the first one to make that joke. Ha!) released their thirteenth album For The People in July.
If you’ve never heard of these guys before, I’ll sum it up as I was told as a teenager; “It’s punk music with Irish instruments and bagpipes and stuff.”
I won’t recite the Wikipedia article that I read, but these guys have massive links to the punk scene. Originally signed to an offshoot of Epitaph, first EP produced by Lars Frederiksen (Wow! The fifteen year old in me is getting quite excited!). I initially heard them on a Punk-o-Rama compilation (remember those!?), and then we ALL heard them in Scorsese’s film The Departed (has it really been that long since that movie came out?). Dropkick Murphys have a decent sized pin in the wall planner that is North American punk rock history.
But, it has been 20 years, and punk doesn’t always grow up agreeably.
From what I have heard, Dropkick Murphys’ tunes generally fall into two camps. There are the Celtic Punk songs which give the vibe of an Irish band with distortion turned up. And, perhaps, a bit more shouting in the chorus than you’d expect to see down at The Bog on a Friday night. Personally, with the raspy manner in which they are sung, I feel it sounds a bit like I am listening to a pirate band.
Or the other part of the venn diagram are sing/shout-along-chorus punk songs with heavy power chords.
But, hey! That’s all been done before. Sometimes, they hit that sweet spot and it’s a great mixture of both. Their classic, I’m Shipping Up to Boston, is an excellent example of this. Do we see/hear this on this album? Kind of.
It actually starts quite strong with the lead single, Who’ll Stand With Us? It’s catchy but edgy. And, they have long since proven that the Celtic instruments are an awesome touch. However, I’d say the rest of the album is dotted heavily with songs that are more or less mutually exclusive.
Speaking of two camps and venn diagrams! There are also (and I am HEAVILY generalising here) two big lyrical themes. One is ‘stand up for your rights’ and the other is about paying homage to the others. …Chesterfields and Aftershave is a really lovely song about the singer’s grandfather who has long since departed. The Big Man pays tribute to Pennywise guitarist Fletcher Dragge, and doesn’t quite invoke the sentiment (or the same level of songwriting). Still, I was impressed to be able to work out WHO they were singing about on the first listen! The Pogues singer Shane MacGowan also gets the closer dedicated to his memory.
Billy Bragg and original member Al Barr feature on the release also, which is a nice touch.
Look, it’s an album that punk fans will enjoy. It’s got the right attitude and edge to it. The jump between styles and the inclusion of Celtic instruments is a welcome refreshment from four chord punk (even IF these guys have been doing it for some time now!). I found some moments in there that I could enjoy lyrically, which I find quite difficult on new releases of punk bands who have been in the game for 25+ years.
Daniel Edmonds
For The People is out now on Dummy Luck/PIAS
