CD REVIEW: THE RUMJACKS – Sober & Godless

CD REVIEW: THE RUMJACKS – Sober & Godless
Shock Records
6 February, 2015
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
8/10

Don’t let the jaunty acoustic guitar and tin whistle jig that opens Sober & Godless fool ya (or the album title, for that matter): The Rumjacks are a punk rock band and they’ve come for your rum-sodden soul.

Comparisons could be made with The Pogues, or Dropkick Murphys – their music has the same blend of punky aggression, rock nous and celt-folk high spirits – but at their hearts The Rumjacks are their own men.

Nevertheless, tradition plays a big part in The Rumjacks’ modus operandi: a band of heathen brothers playing punk-celt shantys with one eye on the past and a strong sense of the history and ugly beauty of the genre, their adventurous integration of tin whistle, accordion and folk rhythms bring to mind the explorations The Clash made through reggae and the burgeoning hip hop scenes when they made their best work.

Category: CD Reviews