Album Review: Airs & Graces – Voting At The Hall

Not to be confused with Washington based street punk band Aires And Graces, Germany’s Airs And Graces are a folk punk band that contains former members of The Buccaneers, Scrapy, Settle Down and The Mahones. Airs & Graces deliver a blend of raw punk rock and folk music with a distinctly DIY feel, and as a result Voting At The Hall is an album that presents as having a sound that is more akin to the likes of Roughneck Riot and Dogtown Rebels rather than the more well known purveyors of Celtic influenced folk punk.

Cards kicks things off with some old school punk rock that is complimented by the inclusion of folk punk elements, Voting At the Hall continues to mine a rich vein of old school and DIY punk styles with a distinctly Celtic element that is at it best on the defiant track Refuse To Go. Airs & Graces only deviate from their sound to dip into a more folk influenced style, for me this style doesn’t fit with their rough and ready charms as well, as this is a band that are at their best when their brand of folk punk wears the latter influence firmly on it’s sleeve.

There are obvious comparisons for this kind of Irish influenced folk punk, and it’s safe to say that fans of Dropkick Murphys, The Briggs and Flogging Molly will not disappointed if they pick up a copy of Voting At The Hall, and when listening to the album it’s no surprise to discover that Airs & Graces have a former member of The Mahones amongst their number. But that’s not the end of the story, there’s a strong element of old school punk rock from likes of the Ramones and Stiff Little Fingers, and obviously The Pogues, that keeps a consistent injection of energy across the album’s fourteen tracks.

Airs & Graces website can be found here and their Facebook page is here

Voting At The Hall will be available for purchase here