Dropkick Murphys - The Meanest of Times Review
Posted by Matt Reno on 09.21.2007
Your next drunken bar brawl has a new soundtrack.
The Dropkick Murphys have spent the past decade as one of today's most respected and popular sub-mainstream punk bands. Even after getting a taste of stardom thanks to their song "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" appearing in Oscar-winning film The Departed, the Murphys show on their sixth album, The Meanest of Times, that they're not ready to abandon their rough-around-the-edges, Irish punk sound anytime soon.
Once again the Murphys deliver an album full of hard-rocking tunes with messages quite different from what passes as punk on modern rock radio these days. No faux-rebellious, whiny breakup songs here. Instead they reflect on their Boston upbringing, preach the importance of family, and warn against things like drugs, celebrity worship, and plain old stubbornness.
Though the Murphys generally produce feel-good music, they're also realistic, and their depictions of life on this album are often pessimistic, even if the music contrasts the message. First single "The State of Massachusetts" tells the tale of an irresponsible mother having her children taken away. "Vices and Virtues" tells of four brothers and their unfortunate causes of death: "whiskey, war, suicide, and guns." It's not all doom and gloom and though. "Echoes on 'A' Street" praises the loved ones who wait for the band while they're on tour while "Never Forget" closes the album by reminding us what's truly important in life: family and friends.
Every song maintains a high amount of energy, as the band combines the gritty vocals of Al Barr and Ken Casey with fast-paced punk bolstered by Irish instruments such as the tin whistle, mandolin, and, of course, bagpipes. Though the Murphys perform this style better than anyone, they neglect the other styles that have made them so beloved. While straight-up punk is nothing new for them, songs like these usually appear in between more distinctive anthems, dance numbers, or dirges (think "Good Rats," "The Dirty Glass," or "The Green Fields of France.") Standouts are hard to find on The Meanest of Times, so it takes a few listens to break the blending-together feeling. Eventually you'll begin to find favorites thanks to catchy choruses such as in fist-pumper "God Willing" or "Famous For Nothing," in which the band recalls their days as parochial school tough guys: "Their gang went my way for basketball / My gang went their way for alcohol / When we met it wasn't pretty at all."
The album's biggest standouts are the reworkings of traditional Irish songs. "Spancil Hill" and "Lannigan's Ball" get Bostonized into "Fairmount Hill" and "(F)lannigan's Ball," as lyrics are changed to set the stories in Massachusetts rather than Ireland. "Fairmount Hill" slows the album's pace while remaining forcefully delivered. "(F)lannigan's Ball" is sure to become a concert favorite, as the band rowdily depicts a dance that turns ugly. Toward the album's end, we get "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya," a powerful marching anthem that is probably the album's most distinct track.
Though I expect more from a Dropkick Murphys album, it's hard for me to stay down on The Meanest of Times. All the music is good, and any punk rock fan will enjoy it. I was hoping for more standouts, but I'll have to settle for a solid rock album instead. This may not go down as a Murphys classic, but it's certainly a welcome edition to the collection and proof that after ten years, this band is sticking firmly to its roots.
The 411: The Meanest of Times shows the Murphys doing one of the things they do best: gritty, Irish-laced punk rock. Unfortunately, the lack of variation causes many songs to blend together whereas previous albums contained at least a few major standouts.
