Album Review: Pirate Copy – Swashbuckle And Swagger

Drunken pirate themed punk rock isn’t something I’ve encountered that often, the only other examples that spring to mind are when Adam And The Ants briefly hoisted the Jolly Roger and the Mad Caddies‘ Walk The Plank album, nevertheless that is exactly what this is. Swashbuckle And Swagger is a punk reimagining of Pirates Of The Caribbean, had the whole shebang been transplanted to Cornwall and if Johnny Depp‘s less than convincing crew had been replaced by members of The Real Mckenzies, Peter And The Test Tube Babies and the Anti-Nowhere League, which to me sounds a like a massive improvement on what that uninspiring movie franchise has been steadily pumping out.

I’ll try to avoid lapsing into anymore pirate themed clichés, but it’s not going to be easy as this is an album that sounds like old school piracy on steroids, or rum, ok now I’ll try and ease off the clichés. The opening track, Legends Of The Afterparty, lets you know exactly what to expect, this is raw punk rock that has a party feel, with obvious swashbuckling undertones. The rest of the band’s debut full length maintains the heavyweight old school soundtrack but sticks to the drunken pirate theme with tracks such as Punk Rock Pirates, All Drunks On Deck and, just to underline their old school pirate credentials, Somalian Pirates Suck.

The Cornish quintet’s sound has come a long way since the release of the debut EP, The Shape Of Piracy To Come, four years ago, Swashbuckle And Swagger comes across as a much heavier and meatier sound than their previous releases, it also sounds like Pirate Copy had an absolute blast making it. Whether the novelty of the album’s pirate theme will wear off over time is something that will only be revealed by repeated plays, but for now Swashbuckle And Swagger is twelve tracks of drunken punk rock that encourages rum consumption and gives you a great excuse to to make piratey noises.

Swashbuckle And Swagger will be released on the 26th October via Black Sail Records

Pirate Copy‘s Facebook page can be found here and the Black Sail Records website is here