Dropkick Murphys: The Gang's All Here : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Dropkick Murphys are the quintessential Irish-American punk-rock band. The Boston quartet's second album, The Gang's All Here, picks up where last year's debut, Do or Die, left off: somewhere between the corner pub and the socialist meeting hall. The four band members pummel through their anthems like punked-out Rock 'Em Sock 'Em robots, whether they're delivering chant-along rants like "Pipebomb on Lansdowne" or an exhilaratingly mangled rendition of "Amazing Grace." New singer Al Barr spews his polemics in a voice that alternates between working-class Irish-Americana and a garbled, slobbery slur. Guitarist Rick Barton burns grooves at speeds that make the Murphys' simple chord progressions sound giddy. Bassist Ken Casey and drummer Matt Kelly keep the tunes on track with a variety of galloping beats. And as on the first album, there are bagpipes and fiddle. That's right, on a punk album. Cool. (RS 809)

NEVA CHONIN