It was St. Patrick’s Day yesterday so naturally I took some of my old punk classics out for a spin– Dropkick Murphys, The Pogues, and as you probably guessed, Flogging Molly and their 2002 album Drunken Lullabies. My daughter has really been getting into themed music as of late (if she’s wearing a tie-dyed shirt she wants to listen to “tie-dye” music which ends up being 60’s psychedelic rock, if it’s a shark shirt she gets shark themed kids songs etc.) and so Flogging Molly was an obvious choice to guide us through the day. It was awesome watching her and my son bop their little heads around as Flogging Molly’s brand of Celtic punk rock blasted through the speakers during our morning.
As I was listening to this album with my kids I couldn’t help but draw a parallel between Flogging Molly and my side project Kindergarten Cartel (which covers traditional kids nursery rhymes in a punk rock format). Much like Kindergarten Cartel, once you hear Flogging Molly’s unique take on a classic genre it just simply makes sense and a natural fit. The traditional Irish instruments like the Bodhrán, tin whistle, and accordion weaved into distorted electric guitars and drums played at double time is perfect, their borrowing of traditional Irish song structures is a worthy homage, and of course those excellent gang vocal harmonies are such a natural fit for their brand of bar-rock. Taking folk influences and turning it up to 11 sounds absolutely amazing and has made them a must-have band in your St. Patrick’s Day rotation every year from here on out.
One final note of interest on the origins of the band’s name– the band got their start playing every Monday night at LA-based Irish bar Molly Malone’s. The band played there so often it became somewhat of an inside joke that they were flogging it to death– and hence the name Flogging Molly was born.
Standout Songs: “Drunken Lullabies”, “May the Living be Dead (In Our Wake)”, “If I Ever Leave This World Alive”, “The Rare Ould Times”
