Produced by
Rancid
's
Lars Frederiksen
,
The Gang's All Here
is a solid course in topical
punk
with tough Irish-American strains.
The Dropkick Murphys
, from Boston, take up the expected us-against-the-world pose, but back it up with lyrics a cut above the hormonal angst of their late-'90s contemporaries. They use a combination of topical observations and self-examination that gives their stance a bit more validity, especially in
"Curse of a Fallen Soul."
It's smart and generous
, but still decidedly tough thanks to
Al Barr
's gruff vocals and the impressive power of drummer
Matt Kelly
. Musically they don't veer too much from the only three chords and the loud volume setting you really need for
. Isolated moments, like the bagpipe/guitar cover of
"Amazing Grace"
or the faux military march,
"The Fighting 69th,"
show they could be capable of versatility along the lines of
the Clash
or
. ~ Paul Pearson