Flogging Molly – Float

I first discovered Flogging Molly over six years ago when they released Drunken Lullabies. It was one of my first introductions to Celtic infused punk and it soon became a staple in my CD collection. Over the years I became more aware of the genre and started seeing more and more of it popping up. While yes, some of the bands had been around before, there were new acts spurting out everywhere or become more well known. Flatfoot 56, The Tossers, Bloody Irish Boys; and yes, The Dropkick Murphys all grabbed my attention; but it was only Flogging Molly who really captured the whole ideal for me as they were this generations’ Pogues – although slightly less intoxicated.

On Float, Dave King and Flogging Molly amp up that reference with an album that was not only recorded in King’s native country of Ireland but also features a much more traditional flare than anything the band has done before. While yes, all their prior releases were also seeped in traditional flare – Float shows an even heavier side of that.

This creates a much more authentic feel than anything else being spat out these days. The Dropkick Murphys, while unbelievably entertaining, are fading away from their traditional roots and going for more blue collared punk rock anthems. Flogging Molly are going in the opposite direction creating a record that feels real. It’s a record you could imagine hearing blaring in the back of an old Irish punk has a down a pint of Guinness with your friends. The band has expanded their sound by adding a wider variety of instruments including two different banjos, a bodhran, and concertina. There is still that punk rock intensity in songs like Requiem For A Dying Song, No More Paddy’s Lament and From The Back Of A Broken Dream but Float‘s real motivation is the more traditional Celtic sound just sped up a bit and it is when they fully absorb that influence, as they do on the title track, that the band shows us why they’re the top name on the Celtic Punk list.

The only thing that really hurts the record is how it, at times, feels all too complacent. Flogging Molly have discovered a sound that works wonders for them and have stuck with it throughout their career all the while rarely truly expanding on it. Without striving for change in their sound, Flogging Molly can be somewhat predictable in their delivery sometimes. It also limits the scope of what the band can do in the album. It means that even though Float is, collectively, an immensely strong album (quite a lot stronger than Within A Mile from home and some could even argue it is their strongest release to date), no where on the album is there a song that fully captures the listener’s attention and imagination. On Drunken Lullabies they had What’s Left Of The Flag and If I Ever Leave This World Alive, on Swagger it was The Devil’s Dance Floor, Within A Mile Of Home had Seven Deadly Sins; even Whiskey On A Sunday had Laura. Float doesn’t really have a song that encapsulate the record but is instead a complete unit that needs all eleven songs to function.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing but at times you just want something a little more and Flogging Molly don’t always give it to you. But hey, if Pennywise can give out the same CD time after time, why can’t these?