No.99 - ‘Drunken Lullabies’, by Flogging Molly (2002)

“Toast to tears of time’s past glories; This ageless clock chime stalls; Where to kiss the lips of that love forgotten; To fly where no others have soared…”

Back in the early noughties, I would set my tape recorder to record at 2am. I had discovered ‘The Lockup’, a weekly punk rock and hardcore radio show on BBC Radio 1, hosted in LA by Mike Davies. As i slipped the first cassette into my walkman on my way to school, I was instantly hit with a frantic banjo and pounding bass drum introduction followed by the raucous overdriven guitar, fiddle and accordion…this was Flogging Molly and Drunken Lullabies.
 
With influences including the Pogues, Dubliners, and the Clash, this album pulls out plenty of hectic, yet melodic, celtic punk tunes with a splashing of more traditional Irish tinged folk songs. The lyrics are poetic, whilst “decrying the ills of modern society” - All Music. At first, it seems hard to differentiate between certain songs but after plenty of years of listening, Drunken Lullabies has become a firm favourite of mine. A true foot stomper of an album!

Dublin born lead singer and banjo maestro Dave King started in a couple of heavy rock bands. First in the UK with Eddie Clarke of Motörhead and then in the U.S. with the desire to bring in traditional Irish instruments to the band, against the wishes of Epic Records, he formed Flogging Molly (the name inspired by a pub in LA where they played every Monday night)

Drunken Lullabies was FM’s second release and peaked at No.104 on the Billboard 200 in the US. Pleased to say that it also resides in my collection as a ltd edition red vinyl.

Favourite songs - Kilburn High Road, Drunken Lullabies, Rebels of the Sacred Heart


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