Traditional Irish music in a contemporary world.
Due to the nature and history of the Irish diaspora, there is a sizeable market for Irish nostalgia and commercialism in all areas of the world. For those and the descendants of those who fled their homeland, a sense of pride and duty means there is a lucrative market in all things green, be it Guiness or the St Patricks Day celebrations. One such act which cleverly benefits from this is Flogging Molly, a seven piece band from LA which trades on traditional Irish sounds and lyrics with a contemporary rock feel.
This collection is a bit different; the main part is actually a DVD film of the bands life and stage shows and general misdemeanours. For fans, it will no doubt be a valuable memento but for new fans, its hard to get interested in too much. Scenes where the band return to the pub where they started off and took their name from and their large home-town shows, the film is a good representation of what drives and inspires Flogging Molly. The accompanying soundtrack CD collates live tracks, old favourites and the obligatory new track to encourage fans to shell out for its purchase.
Lead vocalist Dave Kings delivery is scratched and ragged, living up to the stereotypical image of the Irish hard-living, hard drinking man and the tales the band tells fits in with this story as well. The music of Flogging Molly mirrors their fans and what their fans want to hear.
With only ten tracks, and all of them having similar traits and sounds, the cd side is a bit sparse but as it meant as an addition to the DVD, as opposed to a stand-alone album, this can be excused.
It trades in on the Irish football team with one of the live tracks showcasing the crowd belting out "Ole ole ole", yet another chest thumping moment and giving proof to the notion that the Irish just love to party.
Theres nothing new about these songs, of course there isn't, that would defeat the purpose of it all, fans of Flogging Molly buy the records because they think it gives them a link to Ireland. The problem or benefit (depending on your viewpoint) with acts like Flogging Molly is that they don't offer up any singular point or benefit that any other act could bring but combines a lot of the elements together to create an easy catch-all persona.
If people want Irish rock there is U2, if people want to sing about the history and political struggles of the Irish there are countless folk and traditional bands trading on this element and for fans of traditional Irish music featuring accordions, its available elsewhere. Flogging Molly fit the niche of all these areas crossing over and no doubt make their fan base very happy. If this sounds up your street, then let the people sing their stories and their songs but for anyone on the outside, there isn't too much to justify recommending Flogging Molly over any other act but it's a well put together package and could turn a few heads onto their take on Irish-ism.