Posted on: March 4, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Flogging Molly – Float / 2008 SideOneDummy / 11 Tracks / http://www.floggingmolly.com / http://www.sideonedummy.com /

“Requiem For A Dying Song” is the first track on “Float”, and it shows that Flogging Molly have taken the years in between 2004’s “Within A Mile of Home” and this album to create songs that are very intricate but still have the same blend of catchy Irish and punk genres. The three and a half minutes of “Requiem For A Dying Song” go by quickly, while “Paddy’s Lament” changes up the sound to a more stripped-down and direct assault of listener’s ears. The act even throws in a little appreciation for the framework of progressive metal acts, even if everything is masterfully modified into an Irish-rock type of sound. The band finally slows things down during the title track.

The sorrowful sound that is put forth with the vocals makes this into a much more emotive and grave type of track. While still playing in the general Irish style which they made their bread and butter, the act seems to add a mild hint of alt-country into the mix. The violin and fiddle shine the brightest during the track, turning a solid track into one that will stick in listeners’ minds for a while after the disc ends. Flogging Molly move back into a quicker style with “You Won’t Make A Fool Out Of Me”, but the track does not do much in the way of changing up the expected style from the band. Where all of the previous tracks on ‘Float” had added something new to the act’s arsenal, “Fool” just seems like another average Flogging Molly track.

The band is able to create something a little bit more memorable with “Punch Drunk Grinning Soul”. During this track, Flogging Molly really come forth and create a track that is good in regards to the body of rock music, instead of just being stellar in the much smaller genre of Irish music. Flogging Molly come up with a nice follow-up to “Within A Mile of Home”. There are quite a few different memorable tracks on this album, but there are some clunkers that do not do much to keep individuals interested. I doubt that these tracks would be played live, so go and spend the money that one would normally pay for this disc and see them live. Flogging Molly fans will appreciate this disc, so pick it up if you’ve loved everything that they have done up to this point.

Top Tracks: Paddy’s Lament, Man With No Country

Rating: 6.0/10

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