ALBUM REVIEW: From Wasteland To Wonderland – Paddy And The Rats
Pirates have, let’s be fair, always been metal – sailing the seas with little to no fear, pillaging weaker vessels and sharing the booty around, they’ve always held a mystique that, whether for better or worse, has given rise to some of the most popular metal bands on the planet right now. Taking this subject matter and combining it with Celtic punk, however, is less regular; pirate-themed Celtic punk from Hungary is even more scarce. However, that’s where PADDY AND THE RATS come in, combining naval tales of yesteryear with the sort of music to emit from a traditional Irish pub and wrapped up with an Eastern European flavour. To their credit, they’ve kept this going for six albums now, with their latest effort From Wasteland To Wonderland out on Friday April 29th via Napalm Records. However, this release comes with more sadness than usual; it is the final album to feature accordion player Bernie Bellamy, who passed away suddenly at the beginning of the year.
Given its mix of styles, there isn’t a lot of depth to the album, but then there doesn’t need to be – Celtic punk is mostly about getting one’s knees up, celebrating life and making the most of the short time we have on this planet. It isn’t always, of course – THE POGUES proved that in the 80s for a start – and indeed PADDY AND THE RATS tap into that side with the emotional ballad Wonderland that finishes off the album’s 13 tracks and 45 minutes. The rest of the album is as you’d expect, a dozen tracks full of energy and begging to be sung with tankards in hand as you sit in a corner of some drinking establishment just off the beaten track in Dublin… or Budapest, for that matter.
The album’s title is rather on-the-nose; it finishes with the aforementioned Wonderland and begins with Wasteland, which brings out duelling mandolins and vocal trade offs with interspersed violin movements. The nautical themes arrive shortly after with Ship Will Sail and Party Like A Pirate, both unironically swashbuckling numbers that are impossible to not smile at. Matadora brings in some Mariachi-style trumpets for that touch of Spanish flair whilst Everybody Get Up is not, perhaps disappointingly, a 5IVE cover, but a raucous sing-a-long about the sheer power of music. It doesn’t all stick – Northern Lights has a bizarrely auto-tuned Europop chorus that’s more in line with BASSHUNTER than anything else, but perhaps the most obvious drawback is that there is stronger music like this out there; such as THE DROPKICK MURPHYS for one.
Nevertheless, for all that this record is a mixed bag at times, it’s definitely fun; it’s not going to be pushing for awards any time soon, but it’s a feel-good record that will make an excellent soundtrack for days out in the sun as the weather continues to get warmer and the nights become shorter. As for Bellamy, this is a perfect swansong for his impassioned playing; he will be missed.
Rating: 7/10
From Wasteland To Wonderland is set for release on April 29th via Napalm Records.
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