Dropkick Murphys - The Warrior's Code

Dropkick Murphys are a Celtic punk band who formed in 1996. This is their fifth album which was released in 2005, two years after Blackout.

Your Spirit's Alive opens proceedings with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer (possibly to weed out the faint-hearted?). In my book, it's not so much a song as an extended introduction to the album. Later on, Citizen C.I.A uses much the same style, and both are not really my cup of tea.

Things improve greatly with the quality riff (does one call it a "riff" on a bagpipe?!) in The Warrior's Code. I reckon it's a solid punk-rock effort with some nice hints of Irish influence. Take It and Run is quite similar and also highly enjoyable.

Cranking up the Celtic influence is Captain Kelly's Kitchen, which brings vivid images of pint-swinging in taverns while recounting (probably highly exaggerated) nautical shenanigans. It's a perfect punk-rock twist on the traditional drinking song.

Sunshine Highway strikes me as Millencolin-with-bagpipes-and-pan-flutes, mostly thanks to the wonderfully uplifting lyrics and a very catchy chorus. However it doesn't have a lot of musical ideas to sustain the song's length, so by the 3 minute mark its starts feeling like things are dragging out. Also exposing the band's gentler side is Wicked Sensitive Crew, where the unusual mixture of a punk-rock ballad style and bagpipes works a treat. It also has a wonderfully catchy chorus.

The Burden started off as a big "meh" from me, with the chorus being the lone highlight. But then it really shifts up a gear towards the end with a nice bridge and final verse, with the final chorus being the icing on the cake.

Last Letter Home also gets mixed thoughts from me. On the plus side is a great opening and the song is part of a wonderful event where the band performed at the funeral of a fan who was killed serving in the army. Unfortunately, I find the verses too thrashy to really get into it.

For the first listen of The Green Fields of France, I was expecting the band to break out into raucous punk-rock at any given moment. But thankfully the band restrained themselves, resulting in a beautifully heartfelt ballad (which also gives some nice contrast to the album). But the opposite is true for The Auld Triangle, where the beautiful piano and flute opening gets overrun by a punk-rock band at full noise. And the result is utterly fantastic. There's something about the chorus - possibly the bagpipes - that makes this probably my favourite song of the album.

I'm Shipping Up to Boston features a riff for the ages, courtesy of the woodwind and strings. It's the star of the show, and the rest of the rock band is merely filling out the sound in the background. Superlative.

Finally, Tessie. Wow. It's a brilliant synergy of a traditional drinking song meets modern rock song. The tale might be only about a sporting team mascot (or theme song), but the deep sense of comraderie still shines through. The honky-tonk piano and bagpipes fit in perfectly, and the sing-a-long chorus is perfectly executed. How I wish that my own sports team had such a brilliant theme song.

Audio quality?

Unfortunately the cymbals get completely lost in the mix. Aside from this, the album sounds great, thanks to crunchy guitars, powerful vocals and good distinction between instruments.

Favourite songs

The Warrior's Code, Captain Kelly's Kitchen, Wicked Sensitive Crew, The Green Fields of France, Take It and Run, I'm Shipping Up to Boston, The Auld Triangle, Tessie

I diggit?

On top of all the individual highlights, the overall impression I get from this album is a family-like dedication to one another. And as strange as it may seem, somehow owning this CD gives me a wonderful sense of being part of that family.