Beginning their mighty musical tribute to those who’ve gone before with wit and enthusiasm, Intro track, “Plastic Paddy”, thunders from your speakers like a rocket propelled hand grenade or the pounding hooves of a thoroughbred at the Punchestown Races, a rowdy brawlers beat with brilliant breakneck speed accordion playing that demonstrates the Brick Top Blaggers furious fighting rhythm that leaps at your ear drums like an angry mountain lion. Lead vocalist, Steve Almond, never fails to keep us singing along, as he leads us over Bunker Hill, through the mountains of Harlan County, Kentucky, to march triumphantly onto the steps of the GPO, and then back home again, towards whiskey soaked revelations and bare knuckled brawlers bruises. A true treat to behold, Nick Morgan's fiddle finesse, and Nolan Lynch’s prowess with banjo, bouzouki and mandolin and Matt Maulding’s accordion attacks will keep you on your toes, for high kicks and melodious deliverance.
Next, “Quitters Never Win”, gets us off our arses as we pogo and slam dance through one round after another of lager, stout, whiskey and raucous reels backed up by jubilant jigs that will keep us dancing, drinking, thinking, and boxing, every man for himself, as Brick Top Blaggers mop the floor with their Celtic Rock strumming and victorious drumming , thanks to accomplished drummer, Kevin Ousley, and the booming bass of Dustin Lindberg, as we stage dive through another musical melee that will keep the punches flying, the bar stools soaring through the air, and the brilliant guitar work of Daniel Murillo, strumming (that keeps us humming) through the mighty storm.
As incredible this tune , “Quitters Never Win” truly is, my favorite track on this fearsome CD must be the title track, “Two Years Enough”, which launches from your speakers like a Surface to Air Missile, Matt Maulding’s bag piping taking us to the battle field, where we trade blows with rival football hooligan firms, swinging our hurley with a mighty whack against the thick skulls of our foes. One of the mightiest Punk tunes that I’ve enjoyed yet, this is just another reason why Brick Top Blaggers are a force to be reckoned with.
Afterwards, “The Rising”, is a stirring ballad and an amazing and poignant tribute to the men and women of Easter Week, and with poetic grace and Fenian harmony, the Brick Top Blaggers again surprise me with their ability to go from rowdy drinking tune to Fenian ballad without skipping a beat.
“Spancil Hill”, is next, and is probably one of the best versions of this old air that I’ve listened to yet, and definitely the loudest.
Afterwards, “The Burning of Bridget Cleary” is a provocative and rocking tune based on the true story of a woman who was burned alive by her husband in 1895 in County Tipperary because he believed that she’s been abducted by fairies with a “changeling” left in her place. Like the old Irish nursery rhyme ;
Are you a witch, or are you a fairy
Or are you the wife of Michael Cleary ?
This tune reminds us of one of the last alleged “witches” to be burned in Ireland, and how powerful the belief in the Spirit World really was at the time. Fair play to Nolan Lynch, the band’s banjo and mandolin player, for writing a great tune, my only criticism is that I kind of felt that this tune really should have been creepier, with the eeriness of a good macabre Irish tale, you’d expect the music to reflect a darker ambience, instead of the Dropkick Murphys-like , party feel that you get with this song. But to be fair, its still not a bad tune.
Next, “The Battle of Stirling Bridge”, takes us back into the mists of time, and magically captures the Gaelic spirit of the Rebel Scots who fought on that fateful day. Probably one of the most brilliant tributes to Scotland’s fighting spirit that I’ve heard yet, and Nolan Lynch’s mandolin playing, accompanied by Matt Maulding’s bouyant bag pipes, really makes this tune the ultimate Celtic Warrior’s anthem. Proud, defiant, rousing, this is the rebel spirit that Brick Top Blaggers invokes in this fighters melody.
“Coffin Ships”, next takes us back to the dark days of 1848 and the huddled hungry masses of Irish, exiled from their native soil by the British mandated genocide that is mistakenly called “The Famine” :
“From the empty fields and empty graves
Where once the seas of barley waved
Down to the bay the starving slip
To board their coffin ships…….
The waves are full of hungry eyes
And stabbing teeth as the tempests rise
The sky grows dark above the Devil’s ark
They call the coffin ship…”
A moving lament written by Nolan Lynch, whose prose is as stunning as her mandolin and banjo playing, with her natural talent, the deftness of these Brick Top Blaggers really shines through the darkness in this poignant tune.
Afterwards, “Eastern Promise” is another brilliant song written by Matt Maulding, which reminds you of the first time you heard Gogol Bordello, or Andy Irvine’s love for Bulgarian melodies. Kind of reminiscent of some good Klezmer as well, this raucous reel tells a tale of toil, turmoil and fighting for every bit of earth that you stand on.
And if that wasn’t enough to keep you singing and dancing, get ready to swash buckle with those Buccaneers from Orange County, with this tune of plunder and pillage and poitin, “Walk The Plank Again”, which is like rum in your coffee, just another rousing rocker that will keep you on your toes.
Next, “Love By Attrition”, is an intoxicating Punk Rock love song that brings back the spirit of Joe Strummer and Phil Chevron both, reminding you of the first time you kissed that girl that you had been day dreaming about when you were supposed to be studying Trigonometry. A marvelous song of romantic days gone by, taking you back to that London street corner when Victoria first kissed Shane. A song that really makes it possible for the blackest of hearts, to believe in love, once again.
“Witness To My Own Wake”, follows, a boisterous ditty that reminds us all of our mortality and that friend we once drank with, who is no longer with us, but who will always be with us in spirit, keeping our spirits high. With catchy lyrics and revolutionary rhythm, and a little bit of bittersweet memory, this mighty tune almost makes me want to go to Church, almost :
“Lay me down on a Sunday in the early morning mist
Where the cold Atlantic meets the western sky
Sound the pipes and the trumpets one last time
Raise the banners in remembrance of me…”
This one should be played equally at weddings and funerals.
Lastly, “American Dream”, is a reflective broken heart aria that says farewell and is about shattered dreams and regrets and the hard reality of 21st century America. This imaginative track is a good choice to conclude a phenomenal and groundbreaking Celtic Rock epic, one that I am sure will become as timeless and unforgettable as the first car that you crashed. Brick Top Blaggers really capture the spirit of working class Irish-America, in all its grit, grime, grace, rhythm, melody, rebellion, and ruminations.
- Rory Dubhdara, Radio Rebel Gael
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