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McGillicuddys "Kilt By Death"
| Message Board > Album Reviews > McGillicuddys "Kilt By Death" |
| Shite 'n' Onions | This comes from the Shite 'n' Onions Celtic Punk Website The McGillicuddys: Kilt To Death (CD) Ya know, every time I turn my head away, another Celtic punk band from Canada, delivers a sucker punch! Right when we here at Shite'n'Onions think we have covered them all under our collective radar, another band sneaks up from behind with a giant left hook! That's what The McGillicuddys did. They snuck up on me with their debut album, "Kilt To Death" and knocked me over with it. Upon first glance at the album, I notice they cover a Roaring Jack tune, "Buy Us A Drink". I also notice they cover songs such as "Nancy Whisky", and "The Leaving Of Liverpool". With the vocals sounding a tad bit like Mike Ness, The McGillicuddys deliver a nice smooth overall sound. The band hailing from "very-British" Victoria, B.C., sure make it a point to show their Celtic roots proudly! (I'm jokingly knocking their hometurf, that features the snotty 3.30 tea-time, and those Union-Jack(off) double decker buses with all those tourists driving around the harbor. It's my way of getting them back for that musical sucker-punch!) Uh, sorry, back to the review! The lyrics in this album are something to point out. With the song, "The Ballad Of Will Munny" we get some very impressive lyrics covering the trials and tribulations of Will Munny. (the guy from the film, "The Unforgiven") Or the song, "The Shakes" with it's booze related theme. The McGillicuddys have a nice thing going on in the lyric department. Musically, they are on top of the game as well. On the original, "The Lady Owen" they break into the traditional dandy, "Rattlin' Bog". As far as traditional tracks on this album goes, my favorite has to be "Father Jack's Favorite" (maybe they should change it to "Father Jack & Brian G's Favorite"? Uh, never mind. The thought of me sharing anything other than a confession with a Priest is pretty fuckin' scary!!) If I had to complain about anything, it'd be the overall production. I can tell they sound better than the album allows them too sound. It's not that the production is bad, it's just that it could be better. I guess that means I'll have to cruise up to Victoria, to see a live show, and harass all the "tea-timers" sippin' away. Or maybe I'll just piss on the side of those "Union Jack(off)" double-decker buses after a McGillicuddy's gig! Review by Brian Gillespie http://mcgillicuddys.ca/ - Sat, 7 Jun 2003 5:44pm | ||
| Lurker User Info... | Upon first glance at the album, he read the title wrong. Kilt By Death is great. In the cd player quite frequently. - Sun, 8 Jun 2003 1:48am | ||
| Anonymous | Another review here, these guys get quite a bit of press February 6, 2003: A recent review of Kilt By Death, by Naomi DeBruyn of LinearReflections.com: The McGillicuddys are an all too rare breed these days; they're an energetic Celtic group out of Victoria, British Columbia guaranteed to have you loving their sound with the first song. Celtic Rock with a seriously sharp Punk edge. This group was formed in 1998, and they've been playing the local music scene ever since. Their website describes the McGillicuddys as �a mix between Social Distortion, the Pogues, the Ramones, and the Clash.� That's a pretty heady blend, considering that each of those groups has a distinctive sound. The McGillicuddys are: Mike Walker (lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, tin whistle), Jill Clayton (accordion, backing vocals), Ian Barrett (electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals), Brent Restall (drums, percussion, backing vocals), and Michelle Kent (bass guitar, backing vocals). All are strong musicians on their own, but combined, they've got a sound you just have to hear. This disc does well when the volume is torqued, although any pets may object to it. I think the first thing that struck me was Mike's vocals. He's got a striking voice that I found quite similar to that of the Pogues' Shane MacGowan, raw and rather distinctive. The next thing that struck me was the energy contained on the disc, each song pulsating with a vibrancy that is difficult to find. A live show by this group would be one that fills the dance floor to over-capacity! There is a harmonic blend of traditional and original tracks on this debut disc, with the traditional track arrangements being just as potent and energized as the originals. Jill and Mike both show a great deal of promise and talent as burgeoning songwriters, which naturally only adds to the group's already pleasing sound. We all love cover tunes, but there's something to be said for those original tracks as well. The disc opens up with a lively drum intro to Jill's On The Rocks, a rhythmic hard-hitting look at how a popular beverage can change a life. Many's the person who has fallen into the glass and found themselves on the rocks later on in life. The lure of forgetfulness is strong, and the bottle is so good at appearing to be a friend. Nancy Whisky is a favourite of mine, and this version is a very amicable one. Nothing really stood out to separate it from the multitudes of other covers of it, though. Enjoyable, just not outstanding. Being a second song dealing with Whiskey that I have chosen to spotlight, I have to wonder if there isn't a trend growing here. The final song on the disc is a wonderful traditional track, The Leaving of Liverpool, and no folks, this one doesn't have anything to do with Whiskey! The McGillicuddys perform it to perfection, and one can easily lose themselves in the melancholy lyrics, but the energetic melody fuels only the desire to hit the dance floor! This is a party disc, with some of the best Celtic punk edged rock I've heard in a very long time. Definitely worth whirling on the CD player a few thousand times! Give them a listen, I don't think you'll be disappointed. - Mon, 9 Jun 2003 12:29pm | ||
| Anonymous | Hmm and supposedly MWPR is retiring. They're touring and getting press, and now he's going to retire? Something is fishy here! - Mon, 9 Jun 2003 12:36pm | ||
| heshouldretire.com | who's friend wrote that review? Shit I've heard this disc, the production sucks, the tunes are boring, fuck do we need yet ANOTHER celtic punk band!, There is absolutley NOTHING interesting about this CD or this band, they suck live too! Lets take Rant music, Mquiag,this band and all the other shitty pouges wanna b bands that BC seems to generate and flush them all.. talk about a band wagon - Tue, 10 Jun 2003 5:16pm | ||
| Anonymous | Well it's a well known American website, so I don't think one of their friends just wrote the review - Tue, 10 Jun 2003 6:52pm | ||
| King Bong User Info... | Piss off neg boy..I own a copy of this CD and I love it! It is always in my CD player and you are a jerk off.. Bong ps still don't believe that MWPR is retiring..we will see - Wed, 11 Jun 2003 11:04am | ||
| Dan | Hey Heshouldretire.com, did you think maybe BC spawns a lot of Celtic bands, because there are a lot of people of Irish and Scottish descent living here. Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean you trash them. Also if the McG's suck so bad, how come I've seen write ups on them, on all kinds of websites; Canadian, English, and American? And all good ones at that. - Wed, 11 Jun 2003 11:28am | ||
| Anonymous | Don't get me wrong I like punk and all, but the 3 cord punk with some guy screaming that comes out of Victoria gets a bit tiring after awhile, so I for one found this CD was great. How you can say there's a ton of bands like this in BC I'm not sure, cuz the only other band I've heard that's anything like them, from BC, is the Real Mckenzies, who up until recently had pretty poor production and mastering on there albums too. Most bands can't afford to be spending thousands of dollars on producing and mastering CDs, so it's pretty silly to hold that against them. As for their live show, well I've never had the opportunity to see it, but I've read only good reviews online about their shows in Victoria, and throughout Canada when they were touring. - Wed, 11 Jun 2003 1:15pm | ||
| Chad | I like the album just fine, the review sums it up nicely - Wed, 11 Jun 2003 6:02pm | ||
| Anonymous | I heard the McGillicuddys are on some UK punk compilation, where can I get it??? - Fri, 13 Jun 2003 3:23pm | ||
| Anonymous | In the rubbish heap, were it belongs... - Fri, 13 Jun 2003 3:44pm | ||
| Anonymous | spell mucht? - Fri, 13 Jun 2003 6:00pm | ||
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