Walk Like Kings the 4th full length original album from London-Irish band BibleCode Sundays is a highly polished affair and continues to prove that the BibleCodes are one of the most talented bands on the Celtic-rock planet. Ronan MacManus is an exceptionally talented singer and the rest of the band are no slouches either. While Walk Like Kings is more mellow and more mainstream friendly then the bands early albums they don’t lose that edge that made the band so attractive before. Walk Like Kings sees the band being joined by friends and family including the amazing Lorraine O’Reilly who duets with Russell Crowe (yeah him of Gladiator fame – he’s been a friend since hearing the BCSs tribute to Jim Braddock, The Cinderella Man). Brooklyn rappers Da Ded Rabbidz join the band on ‘Stand Up and Fight’.
Stand out tracks include the ska infused ‘Disorganized Crime’ (with help from members of The Specials and Bad Manners and ex London gangsters Noel ‘Razor’ Smith and Vincent Bradish for true criminal authenticity) and ‘Willie Redmond’s Volunteers’ a song Ronan pieced together from lyrics written by his late father Ross MacManus and featuring guest appearances by all of Ronan’s brothers including an up and coming young Declan MacManus who goes under the stage name of Elvis Costello (he may need to change that name before anyone takes him seriously though).
Flogging Molly – Punch Drunk Grinning Soul
The Peelers – Going Down Swingin’ (ft. Finny McConnell)
The Mahones – The Hunger & The Fight
The Wakes – The Brave
The Mahones – Paint The Town Red
Podcast 102 features three tracks from our recently released tribute to Celtic-rock originators Horslips.
Band – Track – Album
The Tossers – Erin Go Bragh – Smash The Windows
Bill Grogan’s Goat – Dearg Doom – The Poxmen of The Horslypse / Horslips Tribute
Ferocious Dog – Gallows Justice – From Within
The Mahones – Down the Boozer – The Very Best (25 Years of Irish Punk)
Sharks Come Crusin – Three Score and Ten – Kettle Jane
BibleCodeSundays – Pittsburgh Kid – New Hazardous Design
The Gobshites w/Richie Ramone – The Man Who Built America – The Poxmen of The Horslypse / Horslips Tribute
The Larkin Brigade – New York Wakes – The Poxmen of The Horslypse / Horslips Tribute
Handsome Young Strangers – Poor Ned – Battle of Broken Hill
Cranky George – Tunnel of Love – Fat Lot of Good
Nick Burbridge – Song of a Seafarer – Resolved
The Poxmen of The Horslypse a tribute to Horslips is available here:
Running a little late with the list but whatever, great music doesn’t go stale. So without further adieu.
The top five:
#1 The Mahones: The Hunger & The Fight (Part 1)
Twenty five years on and more tour miles driven then the rest of the entire Celtic-punk scene combined, The Mahones on The Hunger & The Fight still have the enthusiasm of a band in the studio for the first time (but thankfully the 25 years and many albums under their belt studio experience).
I’ll go out on a limb and say McCarthy has the finest voice in Celtic-punk (and that includes Dave King), maybe Van the Moan threw in a few vocal lessons to boot. Of course a good voice won’t do it alone, the band are tight as f#*k, loud and fast and the songs first class and while still fast and trashy
#5 (joint) Black 47: Rise Up – The Political Songs
Black 47 hung up their green suede shoes in November, 2014 after 25 years of hard jigging and gigging. Two albums were released in 2014; Last Call, their final original album, full of fresh and originals ideas and, Rise Up – The Political Songs, a collection of, well, political songs as a reminder of how good this band was.
London’s BibleCodeSundays have been busy bhoys as of recent with late last years new studio album, New Hazardous Design and now The BibleCode Sundays – live near Abbey Road (Park Royal). As a band that play the Irish circuit in London they have always included covers in their set and this album is a response to requests to record and release those covers. As you see from the track listing the covers are mainstream but off beat for an Irish band and each track is given the BibleCode’s fiddle and accordion twist.
Highlights include Thin Lizzy’s Dancing in the Moonlight (great guitar and a funky bass as it should be), Step Step Beyond, the Madness classic given the Ceili treatment and a stunning version of Time After Time (and honestly this was so stuck in my brain and I couldn’t remember who did that original that I needed to google it – Cindy friggn’ Lauper – a great song/version all the same).
There are 13 covers in all and include:
Babe O”Reilly (The Who)
Fisherman’s Blues (The Waterboys)
Galway Girl (Steve Earle)
Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Clash)
Town Called Malice (The Jam)
Babylon
Live Forever
Pat’s Reels
My Girl
Waggon Wheel