Flogging Molly

Within A Mile Of Home (2004)

pwfanatic

The Dropkick Murphys are the only Irish punk band that I will ever listen to. At least that is what I told myself for the past few years. As everyone dabbled in and enjoyed the sets of other somewhat similar bands, I remained blissfully ignorant of the force that was Flogging Molly. So it wasn't until this past year on the Warped Tour that I finally was exposed to these Celtic boys (and girl) and I was blown away.

Within a Mile of Home starts off in with the fast paced frenzy of pure Irish jig inducing opener "Screaming at the Wailing Wall." The song holds a more traditional sound then just pure punk, but it maintains the speed of your standard punk song. It is infectious beyond anything and everything. Lead man Dave King talks of terrorists and communists, but the song never loses its heartwarming appeal of good pub music.

The next song "Seven Deadly Sins" keeps up the fast pace already established, but sounds a bit heavier, holding a more street-punk edge (not much, but more than the previous song) because of the presence of backing vocals and standard sing-alongs. There is a lovely breakdown that showcases the fiddle nicely with the effects of people cheering and I immediately craved a Guinness more than I usually tend to.

Not all the songs maintain this traditional punk sound, though. "Whistles of the Wind" slows down the tempo and heads straight for the complete traditional sound. King serenades over a slower toe tapping Irish ensemble. It is an abrupt change considering the speed of many of the other songs, but it works perfectly.

Flogging Molly shows throughout Within a Mile of Home that they have a mastery of the traditional sound, and their harder and faster songs are definitely a lot of fun. But for some reason I find myself starting to fade away as the album continues to progress. Maybe it is because I have only been exposed to them for a half hour before and I cannot handle their Irish greatness. But as the album progresses, it becomes either a slow traditional song or a fast paced punky traditional song. They appear to have great musicians and many of them in the band, so maybe they could have done well to throw some solos here and there. Who knows, maybe I expected way too much out of them after their awesome live performance. Still, people who want to listen to this band will buy the album, and people who haven't at all must check it out for themselves. Music this fun is few and far between.