Reviews

I've always thought of the Dropkick Murphys' music as an old, reliable friend. It's there to pick you up in times of trouble, dust you off, and get you back on your feet. Of course, a six pack usually isn't far behind. This isn't the first I've written about the band and hopefully won't be the last. As long as a friendship stays true, there should never be any concern about either party going their separate ways.

With The Meanest Of Times, the Murphys sixth proper full length and first on Born and Bred Records, the band has indeed stayed true. While some may be quick to judge and label the band a sell out for leaving their longtime home at Hellcat, I don't see it. The only major difference with this new record is the growth of the band's ability to write great songs.

For a while, the best Dropkick Murphys songs were not even their own. Most were punked up arrangements of traditional Irish favorites. With The Meanest of Times, Boston's new favorite sons are crafting songs that rival those early folk tales in lyrical content and in composition.

The record starts with "Famous For Nothing," a schoolyard kick to the balls about the dumb shit we do as kids. Just about every instrument in the Dropkicks arsenal comes out to play giving the jump off a full, complete sound. Beantown still runs through their blood and sometimes, from their fists. When the group vocals shout "Their gang went their way for basketball, my gang went their way for alcohol. When we met it wasn't pretty at all," you know a bit of fame and fortune haven't changed these guys a bit.

On the opposite side, one song that has me scratching my head is the first single, "The State Of Massachusetts." It's a song about how drugs and dysfunction can tear a family apart, but the music just makes you want to tip a pint and dance a jig. Perhaps this contradiction between joy and sadness was intended for a purpose, but then again, I may be reading too far into it.

Of course, not all the tunes on The Meanest of Times come directly from the brains of the band. Spider Stacy from The Pogues and Ronnie Drew from The Dubliners make an appearance on "(F)lannigan's Ball," a new version of the folk song "Lannigan's Ball." It's rather odd the band flew to Ireland to remake an Irish song with Irish artists and then change all the lyrics to represent Boston, but it works quite well.

The past few years have been kind to the Dropkick Murphys. Between the movie soundtracks, "Tessie" ringing out at Fenway Park during Red Sox games, and their ever growing fanbase, one might think they've lost their edge. They haven't. The Murphys have earned their success and with this new record, are really beginning to prove why they're bound for even greater things.