Brick Top Blaggers
“Denial”
Mannequin Vanity Records
Released: February 7, 2021
The marriage of punk rock fury with the age-old swagger of Celtic music has been a kind one, and here we have yet another grand example of this partnership.
Popular belief would have you believe that the be all and literal end-all of Celt infused Punk begins and ends with The Dropkick Murphys. This simply isn’t the case. Flogging Molly you say! Yes, there’s them too. But wait! There’s more! I could jot down a list for you, but today, we’re here to talk about one band in particular, the Brick Top Blaggers. If that name doesn’t resonate with you, be assured, it soon will. For nigh on twelve years, the Blaggers have been doing serious damage to ear drums, dance floors and pints of Guinness around their local scene, but are soon poised to make an international name for themselves. Soon. First, here is a brand spankin’ new tune by way of a digital single.
In the past, Orange county’s Brick Top Blaggers have drawn comparison to The Mahones, largely for the vocal deliveries that are akin to one Finny McConnell. On this new single, however, a strong sense of the raw genius that is The Real McKenzies oozes through my speakers. I haven’t quite finished my coffee yet on this grey Montreal morning, yet my feet are off and tapping their hearts out to the sounds of Denial. Yours will too once you’ve hit that play button.
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The Celtic isles in and around the United Kingdom have always been rich in song. Folk music for the green and the orange alike. A genre that already has its fair share of tempo and energy, laid down with the raw pent-up aggression of England’s punk rock scene. Where The Pogues and The Mahones first gave birth to this beautiful bastard of a genre. The Celts have traveled far and wide across these lands, bringing with them their traditions and their tin whistle. And here we are.
“You wake up in the morning forgotten what you did last night”, belts out singer Steve, with words we can all relate to at some point in our lives. Unless you’re a nun, and even then, they too have stories they’ll never share I’d wager. Anyway. On Denial, the Brick Top Blaggers have crafted a great song. Solid and mean guitar riffs that are perfectly accented by the fiddle as we are driven hard to the dance floor where a good old fashion drunken piss-up and a jig would certainly meld, if we weren’t under lockdown from this poxy pandemic, that is.
This is an anthem ripe with vitality and zest. It hits like a shillelagh to the bollocks on a brisk winters morn’, or like a hurley stick round the chops. I could make up analogies for what this is all day, or you can go listen for yourselves. I, for one, can’t wait for the Blaggers to drop their upcoming full-length. Then again, it is no secret that I am quite partial to these sort of sounds. I have but one complaint; where’s the tin whistle? Hopefully we’ll find some of that on the full-length.
Denial is a kilt up, drawers down, balls out good time. You can grab your digital copy for just a buck over at their website, and I recommend you do just that. They have two older releases you can sink your teeth into until the new full-length drops, too.
For Fans Of : The Real McKenzies, The Mahones, The Peelers
Track List:
01. Denial
