The Rumjacks is back with it’s fifth work; they made two EP’s and two full length albums before this Sleepin’ Rough album. Celtic punk and Sydney folk defines The Rumjacks: the members were raised with the Scottish and Irish record collections of their parents, before colliding headon with punk rock. The band was founded in 2008 by Frankie and gained more popularity by the song An Irish Pub Song. On the level of genre, The Rumjacks can be put in the same line as Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys etc. (insofar there are labels to music but it gives an image for the people who are not familiar with the band). The instruments besides drum, guitar and bass are mandolin, banjo, tin whistle and bouzouki.
“Its like growing up with a tear in your eye and a storm brewing in your heart”.
– Frankie McLaughlin (frontman)
The first song is the firm Patron Saint O’Thieves: a fun melody, an enthusiastic voice and coherent playing instruments is what you can expect. With Zielona Gora they bring in the folky beats and movement to your feet. The flute gives the launch of a ‘typical’ Celtic folk melody in A Fistful O’Roses (you can listen to the song at the bottom of this article). In Fact’ry Jack the band members use different sorts of melodies, it’s a fun variation. The song with alternately calm and high-tempo pieces is definitly ‘Eight Beers’ McGee. Murder Shanty gives the listener a resting pause. A lot of fluting gets introduced here, an ideal song to close your eyes for a moment and enjoy the serene sound. The singer has his work with Les Darcy ’cause of the many rhythms he has to take into account. A song that will not disappoint is Dead To Me. What a up-tempo intermediate piece. Kathleen is a different song to the others, there’s a very catchy melody [Personal note: the verses could be used for cartoony purpose, for example Beavis and Butthead]. The WKND is no outlier in the album but contains the atmosphere throughout the album. Quietly but strong voiced they play Them Fallen. The last song on the album’s called The Pot & Kettle, a lovely ending to their work. All songs fit together just fine.
In general the album gives the Celtic and folky feeling everyone would expect. The work they present in this album is comparable to their previous work. No huge changes, which is good for the fans to get what they hoped for of expect. The men did a good job bringing a party/dancy mode with many rhythms, their enthusiasm, professional attitude and experience. They can be proud of all their work. Personally I recommend A fistful O’Roses and Kathleen as listening tip.
The Rumjacks – Source
The band suffered the last few weeks: there were allegations about domestic violence. On the following link you can find information and read their statement if you want to know more or want to clear out some uncertainities.
On the website there are tour dates revealed. Next to Abruzzo Festival in Italy, they mainly play in Australia. To check the dates and places, you can click here.
Release date: August 5th, 2016
Label: FOUR || FOUR
Tracklist:
01. Patron Saint O’ Thieves (04:20)
02. Zielona Gora (03:03)
03. A Fistful O’ Roses (04:59)
04. Fact’ry Jack (03:32)
05. ‘Eight Beers’ McGee (04:10)
06. Murder Shanty (04:26)
07. Les Darcy (03:10)
08. Dead To Me (01:01)
09. Kathleen (05:04)
10. WKND (flash new breeks) (03:49)
11. Them Fallen (04:38)
12. The Pot & Kettle (06:12)
