FINNEGAN'S HELL - Work Is The Death Of The Drinking Class

Release date March 6/20 (Independent)

Ah - a band with lyrical content close to my heart ... the urge to quaff ales aplenty! Despite hailing from death-infatuated Sweden, Finnegan's Hell partake instead in the Celtic punk idiom. Think Flogging Molly, along with Dropkick Murphys, and you'll be in the right alcohol drenched, kilt-wearing head space.

Work Is The Death Of The Drinking Class is initiated by two rowdy ditties ('Six Feet Under' and the title track) that'll certainly get beers spilled in the pit. High energy, rollicking stuff where the bobbing bass line and upbeat banjo picking will urge you to get off yer fat ass for some lively knee lifting ... or a sprint to the fridge for a bevy!

The energy level is brought down a bit for 'Whisky Rum Gin and Wine', a singalong track, before they return to their jigging ways for 'The Promised Land'. 'Friends and Foes' follows, coming across like Nashville Pussy-visiting-Ireland before the upbeat 'King of the Bar' brings us back to ... er, the bar, of course.

Hopefully you've got a picture of what you're in for if you seek this out. This is so good that I'd say it is superior to the latest offerings by the flagship bands of the sub-genre (looking at you Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys). You snooze, you lose as they say. Pass me a pint will ya!

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