Dirty Filthy Mugs - All Yobs In

Dirty Filthy Mugs  “All Yobs In”, 2010
(DC Jam)

While Saint Patrick’s day has comes and goes every year, there are some who pretend to be Irish all year round and those that actually are.  Being based in LA pseudo Irish punk band Dirty Filthy Mugs are more likely to be full-time pretenders than the real McCoy.  Lyrically the band cover the topics that we all know genuine Irish bands should such as drinking, friendships, drinking, fighting and drinking.

There’s a definite Celtic guitar  to “Frontline Hooligans”and Matt Wedgley sings like a man who know his Guiness from his Kilkenny.  His vocals come through strongly in the slow “It’s Madness What Kept Me Sane”.  “Another Round” is a huge clue that these guys aren’t Irish as this song isn’t about boozing it up large at all and is instead about relationships. Pass my pipe, Watson.  The song itself is carried by a drumbeat that could cause many a pint to spill.    There’s a simplistic beat that dominates “You and Your Twat Friends” yet it’s easy to imagine people moving towards the front when the band play it live in a bar as it’s nothing more than a catchy rock song and sometimes that’s all you need.  The band seem to be less concerned about pretending to be Irish in the following songs and as a result they’re not as interesting to listen to as the first half of the disc.  The vocals sound like Brian Johnson but aren’t strong enough to carry the band.   “Go Today” is totally lifted from AC/DC but just doesn’t fit in with what the band had done previously and ends up coming off as a weak track.

This album would have been better released with only the first six songs since they’re all strong tracks.
It seems rushed when all the weaker tracks are tacked on the final half of the album and nobody really wants or needs to listen to filler material unless there’s something worthwhile beween the gaps.

2.5/5


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