FLOGGING MOLLY
Drunken Lullabies (SideOneDummy)
Reviewed by Jason Thornberry

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I might be wrong, but I think I saw this band once several years ago at the Harp Inn in Costa Mesa, Calif. That, or they had already inspired copycats. I'm quite sure they have by this time. As this was once the house band at Molly Malone's in Los Angeles, maybe it was them.

Flogging Molly is a seven-piece group who straddle the old punk and traditional Irish sounds with equal self-confidence. What you're left with is a near perfect hybrid of youthful antagonism, and a genial wisdom. It's fun to hear the tin whistle, banjo, mandolin, accordion, and fiddle coming together so insistently.

I don't hear a single trace of Dave King's (vocals/guitarist) old band Fastway (remember them?), but I certainly wouldn't mind an "Agro-Celt" cover of "All Fired Up".

Recommended!

GRADE: A

© 2002 - Jason Thornberry