Review Summary: Grab a beer, blare this record, and shout out the choruses at the top of your lungs.
Bands like the Dropkick Murphys are often hard to come by. Hard edged-punk with celtic influences can hardly be considered conventional music. After showing signs of growth from debut “Do or Die” to “The Gang’s All Here,” the Murphys continued the trend with their third installment. “Sing Loud, Sing Proud” is essentially the band’s breakthrough record; it’s brutal, unifying, and more traditional than its predecessors. Prior to this record, the Dropkick Murphys were essentially a modern punk rock band with occasional Irish influence. This influence however, is what pushes “Sing Loud, Sing Proud” to a level of excellence, and is an indication that the band is gelling perfectly.
If “The Gang’s All Here” suffered at all, it was purely because of the lack of variety and the absence of bagpipes in nearly every track. This is virtually what defined the Dropkick Murphys as an original band, their ability to take your predictable punk track and infuse an Irish sound. “Sing Loud, Sing Proud” is a stark contrast to the militant sincerity of “The Gang’s All Here,” for the Murphys are having more fun than they’ve ever had. Their cover of traditional song
The Wild Rover is a testament to this; hand claps, Irish flutes, and a party atmosphere basically says everything about the record. In fact,
The Wild Rover is so much fun it makes you want to go out to a bar, get hammered and shout, “And it’s no nay never, no nay never no more!” “Sing Loud, Sing Proud” doesn’t disappoint to offer a plethora of these tracks, and listening is truly a blast.
Like both of its predecessors, this album begins with chanting, military drumming, and an effective bagpipe melody.
For Boston is in effect your typical Dropkick Murphys album opener, and is a tribute to the city that made them famous. Bagpiper Spicy McHaggins is more prevalent than ever,
Heroes of Our Past being an extraordinary example. Beside from the fact that the track is one of the band’s finest to date,
Heroes of Our Past provides McHaggins with the means to express his full piping ability, for his solo is melodic and creative. The harmonies created by vocalist Al Barr and Ken Casey in the chorus are exceptional, which purely suggests that their chemistry continues to grow.
Forever is very much a “Sing Loud, Sing Proud” song, holding a great deal of sing-along value and featuring a chilled ambiance. Barr and Casey’s harmonies are once again brilliant, and Irish flute interludes just propel the track to greatness. Such a track represents the growth that the band has experienced and would feel very out of place on “The Gang’s All Here.”
The band’s capability to execute acoustic tracks is displayed in
The Torch, which has the “enjoy your life” mentality. “Turn back the hand on the clock, you're a bitter old man who's done nothing, but work your hands to the bone on the assembly lines.” This album in particular celebrates the working man, but again doesn’t cease to deliver the fun mindset. Covers of traditional songs have become quite a trend for each Dropkick Murphys album,
The Rocky Road to Dublin serving as arguably the best cover here. This track hits hard, but still manages to deliver mysterious and dazzling breakdowns.
“Sing Loud, Sing Proud” is, in essence when the Dropkick Murphys began to do everything right, and is a tremendous representation of what they are all about. This record marks yet another step in the band’s development, providing the hope that better things are to come. And they did.
Recommended Track:
The Rocky Road to Dublin
Heroes of Our Past
Forever
The Torch
The Wild Rover
