The Meanest of Times | Born & Bred Records

Most bands lucky enough to even see their 10th birthday (for perspective on band years, think dog years) are at the very least burned out and riddled with vices, if not heartily knocking on death’s door. Not so for Celtic punk outfit the Dropkick Murphys (DKM). Well into their 11th year, the band continues to flip a bold bird at music’s grim reaper having just released what may be their strongest album to date The Meanest of Times. Abandoning their previous strategy of alternating Irish folk with raging punk anthems, DKM fills The Meanest with tracks that mash the two styles together. In short, the album proceeds at a demented pace, berating its listener with an onslaught of beats and instrumentation ridden by frontman Al Barr’s relentless growl. Its themes stick mostly to family ties and hometown pride, with the occasional critical romp. Case in point: “Rude Awakenings,” a recount of a one-night stand gone horribly wrong (“I thought it was all just a nightmare, I guess it was true”), that represents its subject’s frustration and regret with frequent tempo shifts and sociopathic bagpipes. “Fairmount Hill,” a ruddy and rugged drunken ode to an old hangout spot near the band’s hometown of Quincy, Massachusetts slogs along nostalgically, ending with Barr’s unfortunate realization that he’s still in California. With only East Coast dates booked through the end of September so far, hopefully DKM will make their way West in the coming months.

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