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`Sing Loud, Sing Proud'
Dropkick Murphys (Hellcat)
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There's certainly something the Dropkick Murphys know how to do and that is captured in the title of their latest disc, "Sing Loud, Sing Proud."
Since their last album, "The Gang's All Here," this Gaelic gang has gone from being a foursome to a septet. Formed in 1996 in Boston, the Dropkick Murphys are singer Al Barr, singer-bassist Ken Casey, guitarists James Lynch and Marc Orrell, drummer Matt Kelly, mandolin- tin whistle-dulcimer player Ryan Foltz and bagpiper Spicy McHaggis.
The Murphys are a bunch of lovable hooligans who are into bare knuckle brawling, womanizing, boasting and double-fisted drinking. They blend the best elements of punk rock, British oi! and Irish folk into one ferocious brew. With breakneck speed and a broadened Celt- punk vision, the songs are short and sweet, while being almost impossible not to sing along with and shake your ale glass to.
Whether it's genuine or simply adopted, the Dropkick Murphys have a lot of tradition and nostalgia when it comes to its sense of Boston history, working-class legacy and Irish-American roots. Then again,...