Flogging Molly

If Flogging Molly can't bring out the little bit of Irish in everyone, nobody can. A four leaf clover of punk rock fervor, Irish folk sentiment, staunch songwriting sensibilities and a raucous good time, the Los Angeles-cum-Ireland seven-piece have hit the mark once again with Float, their fourth studio album. The title track is a missive to doing what it takes to survive, frontman and principal songwriter Dave King's deep Irish accent piercing Bridget Regan's violin strings and the effervescent acoustic guitars that bemoan the song's melancholic tone.

Punk rock fiddles its way to the forefront on the more up-tempo "You Won't Make a Fool Out of Me" and "The Lightning Storm." "Punch Drunk Grinning Soul" swings with a gypsy's ragged swagger, and "Us of Lesser Gods" riddles and rhymes with the same lyrical substance that proves contagious throughout the albums 11 tracks. The album's crowning moment comes in the closing "The Story So Far," a poignant and insightful exclamation that sums the album remarkably – Whether lifting a glass and waxing philosophical, or raising a fist and jabbing political, Flogging Molly weather life’s storms with a survivor’s spirit that lives and breeds throughout Float.

—Paul Gargano
05.22.08

The Mollys haven't shown much musical growth since their 2000 debut, Swagger, but it's more a case of if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it than laziness. The band's blend of acoustic (guitar, fiddle, accordion, mandolin, drums) and electric (guitar, bass) instruments contributes to their singular sound, and they still sing and play every track with an almost blistering energy. Dave King, Flogging Molly's lead singer, songwriter, and lyricist, types out the words of his songs on a typewriter that was manufactured in 1916, the year of The Easter Rising, one of the great rebellions in Irish history. His lead vocals match the intensity of the band's playing, and together they serve up another collection of working class, and maybe drinking class, anthems. The music's Irish lilt and furious post-punk energy is evident on almost every track; even the two slow tunes "Float" and "The Story So Far" are full of the boozy, bleary-eyed, fatalistic poetry that makes Irish music at once romantic and grimly realistic. Most of the time, however, the band's blazing energy and instrumental swagger is able to lift your spirits despite the depressing subject matter. "On the Back of a Broken Dream" examines the plight of Iraq war vets who come home to rat-infested hospitals and an indifferent administration. Other tunes, including "You Won't Make a Fool out of Me," "Man with No Country," and "Requiem for a Dying Song" are more straightforward in their condemnation of the greed and heartlessness at the core of the capitalist system, with King fulminating at the powers that be with his usual passion. The band plays with incendiary power, giving the tunes the timeless spirit that infuses all great Irish rebel songs. ~ j. poet, All Music Guide