Well, what can I say, fellow folk fans? This is frankly a bit of an embarrassment. I bang on and on about how much I love folk music, write this blog every week declaring the same, and seize upon any track that may have the potential for a banjo solo, yet it’s taken me this long to sit down and listen to Flogging Molly. Don’t worry, I’m rightly ashamed of myself.
My not hearing of them until now is so disgraceful partially due to the length of time they’ve been around, which is by now pushing seventeen years. They formed gradually; lead vocalist Dave King met guitarist Ted Hutt, bassist Jeff Peters, and fiddle player Bridget Regan in 1993, who together decided to form a rock band with routes in Irish traditional and Celtic folk.
To gain exposure, they began to religiously play a Los Angeles pub called Molly Malone’s once a week, building up a small but dedicated group of followers. Incidentally, this is also where the band name originated from – by playing the pub every week, they were literally “flogging Molly”. Get it? With a formalised line-up comprising of some nine people, the band released their live CD in 1997, followed by their debut studio album, Swagger, in 2000.
The rest of the shame I feel is solely down to how bloomin’ awesome they are. Their songs are an eclectic mix of the energetic and the sombre, covering topics as diverse as love, death, religion, politics and pirates (see ‘Salty Dog’- as far as I’m concerned, if a band sings a song about pirates, they’re probably the best band of all time, but then again I bloody love pirates.)
If thematic diversity isn’t enough for you, the array of instruments Flogging Molly play between them is astounding: acoustic guitar, bass, bodhrán, banjo, fiddle, tin whistle, accordion, flute, drums, harp, banjo, mandolin, percussion, uillean pipes, concertina and (a highly underrated instrument) the spoons. Phew! Their sound is so distinctive it’s difficult to describe, but it’s possibly not quite something like The Clash meets an Irish Céilidh band via Johnny Cash. The closest comparison is probably the Pogues, but with clearer vocals and better teeth.
If, then, you’re like me and have been living in a hole in the ground for the past few years, with Flogging Molly’s sheer brilliance passing you by, do not let yourself miss out any longer. Buy an album or a live CD, Spotify them or plug them into Youtube, anything so that you get this band in your life and discover just how damn wonderful they are. Bet you a tenner you’ll love ‘em.
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