These stout Nebraskans never fail to blow my mind, and my ear drums, with their mighty Celtic Folk-Punk sounds. And this, their 4th full length album, is one that will lift your spirits and give you another reason to fight for your rights and dropkick a banker, a fat cat, an Oil Tycoon, a developer, a dirty cop, a bent politician, and all that prey on the weak.
With the rousing voice of lead singer Brad Hoffman (who also strums most of the acoustic ballads for the band), the mighty accordion symphonies delivered by Pat Nebesniak (who also plays some fine mandolin), while his brother, Trevor Nebesniak brings the booming bass, and the third Nesbiak in the band, another brother of this musical family, Chris Nesbiak, accompanied by second guitarist, Greg Butcher, give us our dose of electrified guitar rhythm, as the battle ensues for musical prowess over the soul-less corporate doldrums of Pop clap trap, leading us on, towards ultimate Celtic Punk liberation, with The Killigans asking listeners to heed their call to arms:
“Friends hear me well, I have not long to speak,
I bear a message for the duped, the trodden upon, the weak,
I have walked through the ichor of subterfuge and greed,
Meant to mollify the masses' national identity
A once proud and independent people
Now lie in shackles…”
This intro track promises that you won’t be disappointed and with Ben Swift’s drumming and backing vocals, you know that at this point we will all be slam dancing and pogoing to the provocative beats that only The Killigans can deliver.
With ten kick ass folksy yet punk rocking anthems on this CD, its hard to choose favorites, but I would be remiss not to mention “Hey Sergio”, the band’s tribute to a fallen friend, “Take Me Back”, a boisterous sing song , remembering those Punk Rock glory days of yore, “Salt of the Earth” a poignant fighters ballad that would make Joe Hill or Luke Kelly proud, and most of all, the very Eastern European sounding tune, “The Bottoms”, a fine tribute to the poor working class Russian-American neighborhood known as “The Bottoms” in Lincoln, Nebraska. With amazing accordions thanks to gifted musician, Pat Nebesniak, it could be a song about Hells Kitchen, Woodside, the Bogside, Fishtown Woodside, or the Southside of Chicago, but instead of an Irish hood, the same social plight and bleak poverty is to be seen in a Russian hood, where :
“Crawling from the rubble at first you thank God you’re still alive,
Cuz you know you should be dead,
Put your faith in Main Street , in Wall Street,
And your own feet all along,
Now you know you’ve been misled….
Fall from the top to reach The Bottoms,
Come join the lonely and forgotten,
And as we pass the broken homes,
On broken cobble stones we hear a voice ;
‘Who cries for the forsaken?’ ”
A deep and resonant song for me, and just another reason, ladies and gents, why you must get a copy of “Another Round for The Strong of Heart”. It might be your salvation.
-Rory Dub, Radio Rebel Gael
