Dropkick Murphys
“Live on Landsdowne, Boston MA”
Born & Bred Records
Sounds like: the Clash soaked in Jameson
The Dropkick Murphys have served as a stand-in for Irish-American culture, for better or worse, over the better part of a decade and a half. Their blend of a hardcore ethos wrapped in the aesthetics of the Irish working class of their native Massachusetts helped popularize music that was ethnic enough to be interesting but still reserved enough for mass consumption. Their live shows have become pilgrimages for their fans, none more so than their annual series of concerts in Boston for St. Patrick’s Day — recordings of which were turned into “Live on Landsdowne, Boston MA.”
Like the Pogues before them, the Dropkick Murphys sometime appropriate notable traditional ballads and make them their own, but for the most part just make punk music with bagpipes. This is their strength and their weakness — it offers an easy way to distinguish themselves from similar acts, but becomes a crutch when not playing to their target audience. A live album should take care of this problem, but “Live on Landsdowne” doesn’t manage to capture the visceral thrill of being in an audience.
That’s not to say there are only bad points to the album. The songs, culled from an extensive back catalogue, keep the same hard pace and no-frills delivery that one expects from music that wallows in the lo-fi and the low-class. These working-class anthems are often energetic enough to stand on their own.
Live versions of classics like “Shipping Down to Boston” and “The Warrior’s Code” speed by without introductions or banter to slow them down. This might be appreciated at a live show, but it gives little reason for fans to rush out and buy this by-the-numbers retread without offering a unique insight into the band or their secrets to stage success.
Ironically enough, the recordings seem too polished and understandable to stand out from their albums. An initiate to the band might find this album a worthy introduction to the signature sound the band carved out, but anyone who has actually experienced a show will likely be left disappointed. Besides the chanting of fans that can be heard at the end of songs, there’s no way to tell if they’re playing at a dive bar rather than to a crowd of thousands. The energy all sounds the same when the experience is reduced down to listening in private.
-MICHAEL W. RICHARDSON
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
“The Brutalist Bricks”
Matador Records
Sounds like: a step back for Ted Leo
D.C.-native Ted Leo picked an appropriate title for his newest release — “The Brutalist Bricks” embodies the rough-at-the-edges pop-punk that Leo had written since he began playing with the Pharmacists. It’s punk rock with indie sensibilities, categorized in a way by itself. “Bricks” continues the singer’s canon with another album full of political righteousness, moody mellowness and tons of catchy guitar hooks.
From the light snare drums of the album’s opener “The Mighty Sparrow,” it’s clear that the band’s sound has gotten sharper over time. The vocals continually build from a whispered falsetto to a Leo’s bold half-yelled, half-sung style of vocal assault. The same style continues on to “Mourning in America,” transitioning into the crunch of guitar distortion and a messy construction only held together by Leo’s voice.
However, the album doesn’t have the sense of unity or polish that marked the last album, “Living With the Living.” Tracks like “Even Heroes Have to Die” combine Leo’s political opining with overworked guitar lines that are less punk than easy-listening. The album often swerves from these catchy, hook-laden pop ballads to thrashy noise-rock, leaving the listener without any sense of common texture or sound to bring it all together. The songs are excellent on their own — “Bartolomeo and the Bees” in particular is as good as any track the band has put out in the last few years. But it’s hard to have to listen to the messy songs that fall in between the gems.
Still, “Bricks” is proof that Ted Leo is still at the peak of his career as he stares down his 40s. Despite the misfires, the inconsistencies and the lack of cohesive tone, Leo still manages to write some of the most captivating and catchy rock tunes of any of his contemporaries. Even if this reads as a step backwards, it’s enough fun to come back to for multiple visits.
-MWR
