Album Review: SIR REG "21st Century Loser"

Celtic punk seems to be one of those genres that people either like most of it, or you don’t like any of it. I’m not talking old Dropkick Murphys style Oi! with bagpipes; I mean Flogging Molly, The Tossers, Blood or Whiskey style where traditional Irish sounds are mixed with punk attitude, speed, and style. SIR REG is one band that both fits into the genre, but seems to stick out at the same time.

First off, the band is Swedish, although it is led by Irish born Brendan Sheehy. When I was first contacted by drummer Erik about their last album “A Sign of the Times” I couldn’t help but wonder why a bunch of Swedes were playing Irish style punk. That album immediately erased that thought from my mind, and their latest release makes me wonder why I ever thought that in the first place.

The album starts off with “Emigrate” what seems to be a personal tale from Sheehy’s past. The rhythm is carried by the staggered beat as it blasts under the Celtic fiddle, acoustic and electric guitars, and plenty of woah-oh’s. From there the album twists and turns through different styles and speeds. Tempo builds on the blazing third track, and single “Til the Dead Come Alive”, then wind down over the next few tracks eventually leading to where Sheehy’s voice really shines: an Irish tinged ballad.

As the album unfolds you get a good mix of fast and slow, punk and rock and roll, Celtic, and straight-ahead. If you are someone who can’t get enough Celtic punk, you will eat the whole album up. On the other hand, if you are a “just the hits” sort of listener, you might find yourself losing interest. If you are one of the latter, the good news is that most people should easily find two-to-five songs they like and can stick with in the first listen or two.

Any time I play SIR REG for someone for the first time, I get a lot of “They sound like Flogging Molly.” While the band admittedly likes Flogging Molly, and has even done a European tour with them, they are not just a Flogging Molly Clone. Their tones lean more toward The Pogues than FM. Stylistically there are similarities in the rhythm, or My point is you won’t confuse the album for one written by Dave King, but you would be proud to shelve it next to one of his in your collection.

The biggest complaint I have about the album is that songs can start to sound the same. This issue really only happens when I use it for background music, though. The first couple times I put it on I had no problem, but by the time I was writing the review and hearing it for the third time though, I got the feeling it was all blending together toward the middle tracks. On the other hand the lyrics are well crafted and have a point, so you probably won’t want to use it for background music too often.

Overall, “21^st Century Loser” packs a pretty solid punch from beginning to end. Even if you aren’t a big Celtic punk fan, give it a chance.  What I like most about it is that it feels genuine. It is not trying to be anything it isn’t, and it doesn’t try to hide anything that it really is.

Punk is OK score: 8/10

Check out the album's first single, "Til the Dead Come Alive"