If It's Too Loud...

Celtic punk has long been a guilty pleasure of mine, but when a band is as great as The Rumjacks, it becomes a little less guilty. Their latest single, "Come Hell or High Water," is just Celtic punk perfection. It's fast and melodic, and has that feeling like the band is just barely in control of the speed of the song. It's gang vocals and traditional Irish sounds, but in wrapped up in a modern punk song. Plus, The Rumjacks add in a little ska guitar to keep things interesting. If you've fallen off the Dropkick Murphys bandwagon since they became an arena band, "Come Hell or High Water" is going to be perfect for you. Lead singer Mike Rivkees says of his band's latest single: “‘Come Hell or High Water’ is about how many of our ancestors were forced to flee their native countries to give us the lives we have today. It was inspired by listening to old audio recordings of my great grandfather telling his story of how his family fled Ukraine when Jews we...

Even though we just had an album from Celtics punks The Rumjacks back in February, they're already back with new music! "Whitecaps" leans much more on the punk side of things than the Celtic side. In fact, there are only a few Celtic flourishes used sparsely in the song. If we're going to compare all Celtic punk bands to Dropkick Murphys (and we probably are), "Whitecaps" is much more along the lines of "Skinhead on the MBTA" and "Pipebomb on Lansdowne" than "Rose Tattoo" or "Shipping Up to Boston." This is just the pure aggression of gang vocals and heavy punk guitars. Frontman Mike Rikvees says of the new song: "The song is vaguely about the rise of far right nationalist movements. White caps meaning rough waters due to high wind… But also could be interpreted as KKK hoods. It just means something big and bad is coming politically. I wrote it based on seeing swastikas all over Eastern Europe. As a Jew, it rattle...

We're in late January, which means we're about to enter Irish punk season here in the Northeast. We've been digging the new songs from The Rumjacks, and the latest is "Bounding Main." The obvious band to compare any Irish punk band to is Dropkick Murphys, and I'll compare this new song to a very specific time for Dropkick Murphys. "Bounding Main" sounds like just as the Dropkick Murphys started getting big. It's not quite as hard edged as a song like "Pipebomb on Lansdowne" but it's not their current arena rock. The Rumjacks have found this great spot where their gang vocals have a catchy, harmonious side but just enough attitude to still be punk. You can watch the video for "Bounding Main" below. Brass for Gold is due out on February 11 and can be pre-ordered here . For more on The Rumjacks, check out the band's website .

Irish punk is one of those genres you either love or hate. Personally, I can love it, but a lot of it really aggravates me. The Rumjacks are one of those bands I find myself loving. Their latest single, "Bloodsoaked in Chorus," has a little something that sets it apart from traditional Irish punk. Sure, it has all of the normal elements of Irish punk, but it's doing something a little differently that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Reading the press release explained what The Rumjacks are doing differently here. It's a ska song with Irish instruments replacing the horn section. That does sound like it could be an absolute disaster, but it's a great pairing that makes for a fun song despite how lovesick the song actually is. You can watch the video for "Bloodsoaked in Chorus" below. Brass for Gold is due out February 11. You can pre-order/pre-save the EP here . For more on The Rumjacks, check out the band's website .

Despite just releasing an album earlier this year, The Rumjacks are set to release an EP early in 2022. The first single off of the album, "One for the Road," is about an escaped prisoner hopping a train to start a new life in California in the 1920's. That seems to fit the Irish punk aesthetic quite well. "One for the Road" fits squarely into the territory between The Pogues and Dropkick Murphys perfectly. It starts off more traditionally Irish, but with a punk edge. As it goes on, it gets louder and more punk, eventually adding in some killer gang vocals. It's a raucous and fun song. It's not reinventing Irish punk, but it's going to make you rediscover your love of the genre. You can watch the video for "One for the Road" below. Brass for Gold is due out February 11. You can pre-order/pre-save the EP here . For more on The Rumjacks, check out the band's website .