Turn Up the Dial-Dropkick Murphys Album Review:

 

The Dropkick Murphys are back with their tenth studio album “Turn up the Dial” their first album in four years “11 short stories of pain & glory”.  Their goal was to make music that keep’s minds of their troubles by lifting their spirits and share some happiness with the people as the theme of the album is “Put your fist up and play it loud”.  For those who do not know they are a Celtic-Irish-punk rock band from Quincy, Massachusetts where their first big hit was “Tessie”, as it became a theme for the Boston Red Sox as they were known for playing St Patrick Day shows in the Boston area. Their next hit “I’m shipping up to Boston” became an even bigger hit going platinum for them as it was featured in the film “The Departed”, and has been used at Boston Celtics, Bruins and Patriots games as well.

With this album they really did hit their mark on the goal of making it an album of lifting people’s spirit, sharing happiness, having people put their fist up, playing it loud and sounding like you are having a jolly old time at a pub with your friends drinking and singing along to the loud rock music. That has always been their sound as it does like they all can be party songs where you’re having fun with your friends and rocks out but with their unique style of Irish sounds like bagpipes, a banjo, or a mandolin mixed into the rocking out.

Seven of the eleven songs on this album are their iconic Irish punk rock sound like the opening track/track title “Turn up the Dial” and “Good as Gold” to name a few. While the remaining four songs are great rock ballads like “Queen of Suffolk County, “City by the sea” which talks about their hometown Boston and “Chosen few” which is a response to Trump’s handling of Covid19, but like every rock band they have their opinions of politics and it’s a tribute to the US and I like the tribute to the band Steam with a “Na na hey hey goodbye”. The final track “I Wish you were here” is a good way to end the album with a touching tribute to lead singer Al Barr’s father who passed away and to acknowledge the 500,000 plus people we lost during the pandemic.

Overall the tenth album for Dropkick Murphy’s is a welcome addition to their long discography of Celtic-Irish punk rock, which is always them being upbeat, having a good time rocking out and trying to make us smile with some good messages mixed into it as well. So “Turn up the Dial” and rock out with them as you listen.