In my alcohol-induced and terse analysis in consultation with Google, I have realized that this was the first year in which all three of the most agile folk representatives with rock and punk flavors: Dropkick Murpheys, The Real McKenzies and Flogging Molly. In this battle, the victory belongs to Flogging Molly.
In the first decade of their existence, Flogging Molly released four albums. The second decade, the current one, holds only two records. No matter the discrepancy, their newest release sounds so familiar, intimate and pleasant that the ticking of the clock stops for a moment, allowing the listener to forget about the concept of linear time. Flogging Molly are dear band to many and there is nothing that you can castigate them for, especially because they found a way to relax us and cheer us up. The same could not be said for the previous two releases.
The album unfolds in unconventional manner, with the song that would be more suitable as a closing track. The Hand Of John L.Sullivan moves your hips, tails, wings, whatever you have. The introduction to the song reminded me of Screaming At The Wailing Wall from 2004. Welcome to Adamstown continues in positive fashion and seduces with gorgeous trumpet section. Following Reptiles (We Woke Up) is super anthem, while optimistic tone remains on The Last Serenade, an oddly sequenced track that sounds like a b-side material.
Dave King, exuberant leader of this band, sounds refreshed and recognizable except for the part of The Days We've Yet To Meet where he actually doesn't sing. This number shares high resemblance with The Story So Far from the 2008 album Float. Mike Alonso still kicks ass and is to be heard on Crushed (Hostile Nations). Raw and desperate vocal is congruent to the killer melody. The music is diverse and layered, as we expected from Flogging Molly. Lyrical king rocks positive narrative and still knows how to incorporate sea-themed melancholy.
Life Is Good is good, but it lacks acceleration and power. Still, their media absence and recording hiatus resulted in nothing less than a positive surprise.
