ALBUM REVIEW: Ferocious Dog – Ferocious Dog
10-Year Anniversary 2CD Limited Edition (Graphite Records)
Ferocious Dog have been building a loyal, ever-growing army of followers in the UK and beyond with their socially-conscious Celtic folk-punk music for more than 10 years now.
The six-piece from Warsop, near Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, are led by Ken Bonsall, who sings and plays guitar, and Dan Booth, a fiddler of singular talent.
Influenced by the likes of Levellers, New Model Army and The Pogues, their sound is rooted in folk, with elements of punk, ska and reggae, and it’s an infectious blend.
Starting out as a covers band in 1988, they changed course in 2010, becoming more politicised and writing about real-life experiences and subjects they’re passionate about such as social injustice, mental health and inequality.
This 2CD set is a throwback to where the second part of their story began, with a remastered version of their eponymous debut album, self-released by the proudly DIY band back in 2013.
Although their music is hugely uplifting for many, Ferocious Dog starts with a tragic story. Opening track The Glass is a tribute to Ken’s son Lee, who served in Afghanistan with the British Army, but took his own life in 2012, aged just 24, after suffering PTSD.
You can feel the pain as Ken sings “This world’s not good enough for me/So I’ll put the wine glass down and leave it for eternity“, against a backdrop of sorrowful fiddle. It’s one of Ferocious Dog’s signature songs, reminding their audience that the fighting doesn’t stop for soldiers when they come home.
It’s followed by Lee’s Tune, a fast-paced Celtic folk-punk instrumental, which sounds very much like Dropkick Murphys, and then On The Rocks, which, despite its jaunty sound, is about addiction to crack.
Make no mistake, this is an album of deeply personal songs, and it continues in that vein with Lyla, written for Dan’s daughter, and Too Late, about his ex-wife’s relationship with her father.
Ferocious Dog often delve into historical matters for inspiration too; Freeborn John is a lilting reggae number about Oliver Cromwell’s betrayal of campaigner and activist John Lilburne and the Leveller movement. It’s one of the standout songs here.
Hell Hounds
There’s another history lesson in Quiet Paddy, which starts with plaintive fiddle and turns into a rousing rebel song about an Irishman standing up to his oppressive English landlords, who “left him as an outlaw/With no place to hide“.
Hell Hounds has become an anthem for the band’s most fervent fans, who take their name from the song, while Blind Leading The Blind is about the squatting movement, and Freethinker lays into religion.
Criminal Justice, another highlight, is about the authorities’ handling of the Miners’ Strike, travellers, ravers and alternative culture generally, and is a reminder, if any were needed, why you should never trust a Tory.
You can taste the working class defiance as ex-miner Ken sings: “And they call this criminal justice/Tell me where did we go wrong/Divide and conquer was their weapon/But together we are strong.”
The album draws to a close with FD’s frantic take on traditional folk song Mairi’s Wedding Pt II, and an even more breakneck version of Paddy On The Railway, which has been performed by the likes of The Pogues, The Dubliners and Wolfe Tones.
Too personal
Closing things out is Verse For Lee, which lays out in heartbreaking detail how Lee Bonsall died. It’s almost too painful and too personal to listen to, but bookends the album nicely, taking us back to where we came in.
Laying out your heart and soul in this manner is just one of the reasons why people flock to swell the ranks of the Hell Hounds, and many of these songs remain staples in their live set to this day.
Ferocious Dog are a band who are best enjoyed live, and that’s where this deluxe 10-Year Anniversary 2CD reissue comes into its own. Disc two is Live At Leeds Orchestral, a 12-song set, recorded at the city’s O2 Academy in July 2022, and featuring tracks from all five albums to date.
A&B is a beautiful song which opens with the lines: “In Birkenau the birds don’t sing/Forget about your next of kin”… powerful stuff indeed.
Yellow Feather is dedicated to a fallen Hell Hound, while Justice For 96 addresses the establishment cover-up of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster which claimed the lives of Liverpool fans who went to a football match and never came home.
Breakthrough album
We get a first-ever live outing for The Demon, another fine slice of reggae in Class War, a superb version of Broken Soldier – another of their very best songs – and the Dan-sang 1914, from 2021’s breakthrough album The Hope, which earned FD a first-ever Top 40 placing.
The set was followed by a full-band electric show (sadly not included here, but which will hopefully see the light of day some other time). Tagged strangely on the end is a studio recording, Too Late (2022), which updates a song from the Ferocious Dog album.
Ferocious Dog remains a fine album in its own right, and the remastering job means it doesn’t sound at all dated, but the live second disc is the icing on the cake. 9/10.
