Posted on March 3, 2010 - by Editor

Album Reviews: DKM-Live On Lansdowne/ Crime In Stereo/ The Smoking Hearts

Dropkick Murphys - Live on Lansdowne

Live On Lansdowne, Boston MA
Dropkick Murphy’s
Cooking Vinyl

This live album (the bands second) aims to provide a glimpse into the craziness that is the St Patrick’s set of hometown shows the Murphy’s play annually in Boston, and hence on Lansdwone Road, opposite Fenway Park- home of their beloved Red Sox.

I was fortunate enough to make it to the shows last year in what many fans consider a pilgrimage to catch the band play twice during their run of shows, including the highlight on St Patrick’s itself. From the get go on this record with the crowd chanting their famous “Let’s go Murphy’s” building up in crescendo to the band breaking into “Famous For Nothing” with Ken Casey and Al Bar sharing their respective differing dual vocal attack; the clarity of the recoding is impressive and immediately creates a sense of the atmosphere. From an eye witness perspective a lot of the banter and songs easily re-ignite images and flashback to the shows themselves.

Some of the instruments are perhaps more prominent on the recording than on the records and the subtleties in the songs being performed live than in the studio are captured very well, for example the accordion and tin whistles etc all stand out far more but at same time the gang vocals element is not as obvious. Although that is more than made up for by the crowd’s boisterous singing along on tracks such as “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya” or disc ending hit number (in collaborating live with members of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones) “I’m Shipping Off To Boston”.

At times I thought the record was perhaps a bit too clean cut and could do with more grit, but Al Barr’s vocals (I remember at the time his voice did take strain) are more razor than ever but the pace and  ferocity do well to capture the showpiece in its all its glory.

What would have been most difficult in the editing of this record would be the song selection; with many tracks of old not making the cut(possibly as they were on the previous live record) but personally the absence of “Boys on the Docks” or “Barroom Hero” is disappointing.

However fan favourites and more recent hits such as “Sunshine Highway” and “Flannigan’s Ball” are included in all their sweaty glory and with the bands well known sport affiliation anthems “Time To Go” and “Tessie” are represented after introductions to the Boston Bruins by Casey.

The week of seven shows is a spectacle live and the optional the DVD accompaniment to the release (available in various formats: CD, double disc digipack with CD and HD DVD, as well as a double gatefold vinyl with bonus CD insert) would probably be a wise selection to fill in the visual element to what is audibly a great collection of on the of most popular punk bands today.

Crime In Stereo- I Was Trying To Describe You To Someone

I  Was Trying To Describe You To Someone
Crime In Stereo
Bridge Nine Records

Crime In Stereo, despite having been around for a few years now and by all accounts released records in the past that have been well received, are a band that has fallen outside of my personal listening radar. Not being a massive fan of the post hardcore sound this record has been a intriguing surprise but I’m still undecided on the overall appeal.

As a band they have done their fair share of evolving from what research I have done and although bands such as Propagandhi have evolved but still maintained a loyal and growing fan base, there are few examples of bands that have carried through drastic evolution successfully.

The initial vibe of the record is one that straddles between prog and melodic hardcore with a lot of sonic experimentation which for me leaves it on the periphery of the broader punk rock spectrum (drum machines and electronic!) but the big production value of the record- which almost endears itself to a stadium-like atmosphere would surely alienate some fans of their earlier work?

Less experimental and driving songs such as ‘Not Dead’ which is more straight up in comparison and the backing vocals and build-up on ‘Young’ stand out for me but the overall transcendent and post hardcore aspect- yes the title of the record is apt coming to think of it-and the well polished and at times overproduced sound is one that gradually ingrains itself….at times.

Obvious comparison to Brand New come to mind especially with that bands own recent shift in sound but the angsty and gruff growls of lead vocalist Kristian Hallbert along with the dramatic breaks and moody feeling means there is plenty of variety if at times too much?

This in itself is a concern as the overall ambition and experimentation on sound on the record leaves an unsteady flow and there are large chunks of musical experimentation which leaves me reeling and finding the FF button. I would be interested to hear what core fans of the band would have to say. I for one- as mentioned generally not a fan of the post hardcore genre the band has found itself in (although on the bases of this record, one they seem to be trying to escape from) found parts of the record and certain songs really interesting but it wouldn’t find its way on to any top ten lists come the year’s end.

The Smoking Hearts - Pride Of Nowhere

Pride Of Nowhere
The Smoking Hearts

The sleazy snotty punk rock n roll of the Smoking Hearts seems to be attracting divided attention and their debut album, sitting menacingly at under 30 minutes, with the 13 songs flying by pretty quickly but also disappointingly without many highlights. To be fair it’s not the type of punk rock sound that I am a massive fan of and I would be surprised if live they were not more impressive.
The guitars standout and accompany the overall sound which is a throwback to barroom sleeze and drink-fuelled antics which would lend itself to a raucous show.

At times the sound is brutal and their attitude plain to hear, both lyrically and in the snotty vocals, akin to current high flyers The Gallows (who again don’t appeal to me) but the energy is frantic and the pace of the album is reigned in and unleashed again by the soaring guitar riffs and solos. The drums though seem too often fade into the background but the spitting vocals can clearly be felt through the album. Overall the record probably lacks a bit of invention but if you want short and quick you might find yourself a winner here.