Dorkgasm Gonzo Is God

            Describing the band Flogging Molly to the uninitiated is difficult. They have defied clear genre classification since they released their debut album, Swagger, in 2000. Eight years and three more albums later, they’ve evolved into the penultimate in Irish folk/punk, if such a genre exists. Hell, it may as well, and their latest record, Float, is one of the greatest to date.

            The very first thing I noticed listening to Float was that it has all the energy of an old-school punk record without loosing the Irish feel the band is so well known for. The first track, “Requiem for a Dying Song” could as easily be a drinking song as it is a rock anthem. Dennis Casey’s guitars meld so smoothly with Bridget Regan’s fiddle that I wonder why more bands don’t use the combination of instruments. Dave King sings like an Irishman who is rallying the Fianna for one last go at the Brits, and the lyrics make one long for a trip to Eire.

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            But the album is more than just a punk ode to the Emerald Isle. The banjo on the title track “Float” will have your heels tapping and the soul of Ms. Regan’s fiddle here is matched only by the spirited voice of Mr. King. The song is a sad lament that recalls the line from Matt Damon’s character in The Departed: “I'm fucking Irish; I'll deal with something being wrong for the rest of my life.” That in mind, one might think this song is a downer, it isn’t. In a sense, it is a reminder that sometimes all we can do is move forward in life and accept whatever our situations are, and move this album does.

            Tracks like “Lightning Storm” and “Man With No Country” are straightforward Pirate Rock, with a driving beat and crunchy guitars. Other songs, like “On the Back of a Broken Dream” or “Between a Man and a Woman” will make you want to dance, while “Us of Lesser Gods” and “You Won’t Make Fool Out of Me” inspire you to raise a glass and sing along. From up-tempo dance songs to downbeat love ballads, this album is so well rounded you would have to be a fool not to pick it up on March 4th.

            Still, if you get around to it late, find St. Patrick’s Day looming, and figure it can’t hurt to check out one track in the name of the season, “Paddy’s Lament” is the best single on the whole CD. By the end of that song, you will regret not having the rest of the album. The song starts with an insistent drumbeat and the fiddle may as well have been played by the devil himself. If you’re Irish, you will feel it in your guts, and if you’re not, you’ll probably still feel a twinge of Gaelic pride. Let’s face it, this time of year, everyone’s Irish, and the world is about to receive the single best Irish Folk/Rock/Punk album it has ever heard.