The Dropkick Murphys, a band which combines punk music with Celtic folk, and Boston culture, have recently released their ninth studio album, 11 Short Stories of Pain and Glory; their first album since 2013’s Signed and sealed in blood.
The album contains eleven songs. The opening track, “The Lonesome Boatman”, is instrumental, while the other tracks on the album have lyrics. Track two, “Rebels With a Cause” is an energetic song about orphans and delinquents who’ve been ignored and equated to trash by society. Track six, “Paying my Way”, is about recovering from drug addictions, while track nine, a cover of the show tune “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, is meant to encourage people dealing with a substance abuse problem to seek help. Track three, “Blood”, and track four, ”Sandlot”, are about the band’s history, with “Blood” talking about the early days of the band itself, and “Sandlot” being about the members’ before joining the band, during their teenage years. In contrast to all of these relatively energetic songs, track 10, “4-15-13”, is a slower, more somber song, about the Boston marathon terrorist bombing, in 2013.
The album itself is a monument to the band, and it’s history. It is in many ways, similar to the band’s previous work, though it’s more personal than their other albums. I would give this album an eight out of ten, and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Celtic, or punk music. I would also recommend it to anyone who is interested in it, or who's never heard of the Dropkick Murphys before.