Killroy – Football Chants & Angry Rants

Killroy reminds me a lot of D.I. in the way that they’ve both been around for ever but I’ve never heard of either of them prior to their newest release. You see, Killroy have been around since the early eighties; but the band’s name has never crossed my path before Football Chants & Angry Rants came into view. That’s too bad too, because Football Chants is a refreshingly solid oi punk record; which makes me wonder what else I’ve been missing.

However, it doesn’t matter what I’m missing. Instead I’m left with what I’ve found and that is fifteen song album that is refreshingly new and yet made comfortable by a sense of familiarity and simplicity. The San Fernando Valley trio has taken a tried and true formula of melodic, sing-along oi music and given it their own little twist. By taking some classic football chants and mixing it with a sense of drunken fury, Killroyare successful at nodding their heads towards the likes of Sham 69 and Stiff Little Fingers while still adding their own flare to the mix. In fact,it’s surprising they’re not from across the pond themselves.

The songs themselves are classic 80’s punk rock tunes, not so much in the vein of the American Hardcore documentary but instead the British punk scene in the 80’s. Fused with a driving drum beat, crunchy/distorted guitars and classic sing-along portions that quickly become anthems, Football Chants is a record for the drunken soccer hooligan at heart. After all, who wouldn’t like putting one arm around your best friend, holding up a beer in the other and singing wildly” 99 Bottles of beer on the wall, take one down and pass it around, we did it before and we’ll do it again, we like to get drunk and be with friends!” You’ll be damn pressed to find a better drinking song than that.

Sadly, that’s not saying Football Chants is perfect and for each fantastic sing along song on the record there’s a simple filler that soon follows. Yes, it starts off really strong with Fighting In The Stands, Rush The Door, the aforementioned 99 Bottles and So What; but for each of those great sing-along, you get the mediocre ones that feels like filler. Late Again, Gas Mask, Out Of Control, none of them carry the same kick that the opening selection did. They kick it up again with Al’s Favorite Songs and Heads Kicked In, but there’s still enough little bumps scattered along the way that makes the record feels somewhat uneven at times and hinders the free flowing sing-along sensation.

Still, I’m sure when I’m next hanging out with some friends, sharing a few beers and playing some drinking games, I’ll be pulling out 99 Bottles to sing along with them. It’s just too bad the entire album couldn’t come with that same feeling of jubilant, drunken, joy.