Filthy Thieving Bastards – My Pappy Was A Pistol…

When I first got My Pappy Was A Pistol…, I was immediately put of guard. Sure, based on their name, Filthy Thieving Bastards, and all the artwork, I knew it would be Irish-influenced – but I had no idea to what extent. So after a few listens, it was safe to say I was pretty disappointed and surprised with what I got. Instead of Flogging Molly jr. I got something much more raw and acoustically driven

My Pappy was A Pistol… is 15 tracks of beer soaked irish songs. And while it has a slight punk feel, it seems as if it would suit my dad’s collection more than mine. Its very raw, with harsh, sharp, beer and blood soaked vocals, somewhat like Brendan Kelly minus the intensity he normally brings to the table. In reality, this is somewhat surprising considering the names laced through the album. After all, the band consists of Johnny, Darius and Spike of The Swingin’ Utters (you may also know Spike as the leader of Me First And The Gimme Gimmes) and Spidey Stacey of The Pogues even makes an appearance on The Back Of His Hand; but even with all these high class names, the album still seems lackluster and laid back.

It is a folky punk album, mainly focused on the folky aspect of the mix. And while there’s some great songs, like That’s Life or the simplistic, very strong Singapore Sling and of course the upbeat Like Jack Dalrymple, after a while the album just becomes boring. Sure, it is possible to play it multiple times, I know I have, but the enjoyment factor rarely grows as the annoying vocals start to implant into your skull – and what’s worse if that you can’t get them out. Really, if they had more songs like That’s Life and Singapore Sling, than this album would be so much more valuable.

The Swingin’ Utters should stick to the Utters and stay away from the folky punk stuff like this.