Dreadnoughts – Victory Square

Faced with the option of listening to either Subb’s To This Beat or The Dreadnoughts’ Victory Square, I immediately went with Subb. Having already enjoyed their previous album, I wanted to see what they would do with their follow-up and since I had never heard of The Dreadnoughts before they weren’t on the top of my list of things to listen to right away. A few days later, I found my way back to The Dreadnoughts and threw it in my car as I drove to the movies and right away my thought was “holy shit, how did I miss these guys? And, more importantly, why did I waste two days before listening to it?”

The Dreadnoughts are not a band that I would normally associate with Stomp Records. Instead of their signature ska sound that I’ve grown accustomed to, The Dreadnoughts have jumped to the other side of the eclectic soundscape and delivered a rousing Celtic-punk album that will definitely become a fan favourite in no time.

There’s no denying that Victory Square is set up for easy comparisons to bands like Flogging Molly, The Tossers, Flatfoot 56 or their Vancouver brethren The Real Mckenzies, however, to simply stop there would be a rather inaccurate description. Despite that they have some of the same similar traits to their Celtic-punk cohorts; The Dreadnoughts have found ways to stand out in the crowd.

There’s the blistering fast violin that rips through every song at a speed unheard of. There’s gang vocals that gets the listening singing along in no time (Invanhoe will become a live staple for the band because of the “Way! Hey! Invanhoe!” chant). There’s a thick, almost Matadors like bass line and vocals that sound like Dave King (Flogging Molly) but without the accent – which, oddly enough, is quite a nice change for the Celtic-punk sound. While the Irish accent does often add an extra layer of authenticity to the sound, the Canadian accented vocalist, Nicky Dread, does help make The Dreadnoughts sound rather original too.

From song to song, the band continually keeps changing it up as well. Hottress and Invanhoe are more vocally driven, with an emphasis on speed and energy but on Grace O’Malley, they let their instruments shine. A more traditional tempo and beat, Grace O’Malley is mostly instrumental with vocals in key portions. Eliza Lee is done a cappella immediately after the polka instrumental The Skrigjaärgen Polka.

The Dreadnoughts are tight. Everything sounds great, from the violin, to the mandolin and the tin whistle. While mostly Celtic-Punk, some could argue that there are elements of gypsy-punk and pub culture threaded throughout Victory Square as well and I would be hard pressed to find a counter argument. Truth be told, Victory Square is just a solid album – front to back. If you see it, don’t be like me and waste any time before listening to it.