Irish Moutarde
Raise 'em All

We are going celtic today when we are reviewing Canadian band Irish Moutarde from Quebec and their debut album which they so kindly has given us to review. The album has been given a nice cover art speaking volumes on what is to be heard when playing the album. The band is a septet of six guys and a girl, added to that they have a little mascot called Olaf who is nothing like Eddie or Fangface who are well known named mascots that I come to think of. In the early days their target was to perform only on St Patrick’s day but it became more than that and now it has become and album and of course numerous live performances. So what about this album then, what to this Irish wannabees from Canada have to offer.

Punkish celtic rock music with lots of energy. Built on simple foundation of punk rock with a touch of metal riffing, spiced up with celtic things like whistles, bagpipes, accordions and stuff like that. The vocals are mainly female but there are also lots of male vocals that works very well in tandem with the female and is also a big part of the dynamic nature of this album. An album that is high paced and feels very positive in nature, a light hearted album that sort of shows of what I think rock music should be more about. Too much rock- and metal bands take themselves way too seriously, not so with these guys who as I said has a more light hearted way to look at it. And the album is also short and to the point being just under 40 minutes it brings out the essence of energetic, happy and punkish music in a well produced package.

I think that this is a really good album, well worth sinking one’s teeth into. It offers great songs both catchy and fast as well as balladish and quite beautiful at times. A well thought out and fairly mature debut album, one that I think has mainly strengths and no perceivable weaknesses. However, one weakness I can see is the fact that the catchiness and simple foundation lacks a little bit of depth which can lead to it feeling repetitive fairly fast. At the same time this is also a strength as it makes it an easy album to get into, so it is a question on you musical preference if you see this album as having a weakness or strength in this department. Other than really looking at small things that you only notice if you repeat listen several times a day for over a week I cannot see anything wrong with this album. It is a great album to me, very enjoyable.

So, as usual I don’t make any sense at all but needless to say, this is a great find for anyone looking for some celtic rock music that makes you smile. Of course if you hate everything Irish, then it will not be for you but as I don’t hate everything Irish. All the songs are good but I think that the second track Farewell to Drunkenness along with the ninth The Fields of Athenry are the most memorable to me. It is a very enjoyable album as I so cryptically try to explain here, I think you should check it out as you won’t regret it.

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