ALBUM REVIEW: Dropkick Murphys – Turn Up That Dial (Born & Bred Records)
Celtic punks Dropkick Murphys have been one of my favourite bands for 20 years, but I was underwhelmed by their last couple of albums.
I know a band of their vintage aren’t going to make another Do Or Die, Sing Loud Sing Proud or even a Blackout.
But their previous album, 2017’s 11 Short Stories Of Pain & Glory, made me wonder if their best days were behind them. It seemed to lack focus and energy, and, most important of all, tunes.
Return to form
Certainly, the days when they’d come up with a throwback to their early hardcore/streetpunk days with a song like Citizen CIA were long gone.
The good news is that this 10th studio album has recaptured their verve, and knack of blending punk with traditional Irish music.
Turn Up That Dial celebrates the joy of forgetting your troubles with the help of uplifting music. After the last 12 months that’s certainly something most people will identify with. I know I can.
Five of the 11 tracks were drip-fed out as singles, and while none were instant earworms, they work much better as part of an album.
The core quartet of Al Barr (vocals) Ken Casey (bass/vocals), Matt Kelly (drums) and James Lynch (guitar) has been in place 20-odd years now.
Let’s go Murphys
Even ‘new boys’ Tim Brennan and Jeff DaRosa, both multi-instrumentalists, have been Murphys since 2004 and 2007 respectively.
The result is a band who know each other inside out, which will have helped enormously given the challenges posed by socially-distanced recording.
Opening track Turn Up That Dial lays down the record’s entire ethos in the first verse: “You’re my inspiration, you got something to say/Now turn up that dial ‘til it takes me away.”
L-EE-B-O-Y is a rousing tribute to their latest bagpiper Lee Forshner, in the same vein as old favourite The Spicy McHaggis Jig.
Latest single Middle Finger is an accordion-soaked stomper which shows there’s plenty of attitude left in these old punks yet.
Tribute songs
The Queen Of Suffolk County is an affectionate tribute to the sort of femme fatale it’s wise not to tangle with.
Mick Jones Nicked My Pudding is the apparently true story of how The Clash guitarist stole his producer’s dessert from the studio fridge every day while making an album.
The title might be banal, but it’s not a bad song, full of the vim and vigour which has been missing from too many recent DKM songs.
Smash Shit Up is another song title which makes you wonder if the Murphys are 50 going on 15, but again it’s not a bad tune.
H.B.D.M.F. is a nostalgic yet acerbic tune which urges grown-ups celebrating their birthdays to “stop acting like you’re 10”.
Good As Gold is an upbeat tune about the joys music can bring, while Chosen Few turns both barrels on Donald Trump and his leadership.
“We used to be the heroes, now we’re the trash, they’ve taken all their goodwill, and shoved it up our ass”. Quite.
City By The Sea is an ode to the band’s hometown of Boston, and the closing I Wish You Were Here a heartfelt tribute to Barr’s late father Woody.
It’s equally applicable to all those who lost their lives during the pandemic, and destined to be a tearjerking part of many a live show.
To coin the title of one of their old songs, The Boys Are Back. And the good news is that they’ve announced UK dates for early 2022, with The Interrupters as support. 8/10.
