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Another American band playing Irish inspired music. This time from Los Angeles in California, United States. Yummy songs that have you tapping your foot and humming along as soon as they begin hitting the skins and pounding those guitars.

The band consists of Dave King: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Bodhran, Dennis Casey: Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Matthew Hensley: Accordion, Concertina, Piano, Vocals, Nathen Maxwell: Bass Guitar, Vocals, Bridget Regan: Violin, Tin Whistle, Classical Guitar, Uilleann Pipes, Vocals, Robert Schmidt: Mandolin, Mandola, Tenor Banjo, Five String Banjo, Vocals and George Schwindt: Drums, Percussion.

Founded in Los Angeles in 1997 by the expatriate King, Flogging Molly got its start and its name from a local bar called Molly Malone’s where the band played and grew and laid down the blueprint for its eventual success. As every member of Flogging Molly will emphatically explain, there were no predetermined expectations for the band’s sound. From night to night playing to a packed house at Molly Malone’s, the sound evolved organically. Traditional Celtic instruments like violin, mandolin and accordion blended seamlessly with grinding guitars and pounding drums. Without consciously attempting it, Flogging Molly merged the music of King’s childhood in Dublin with the music of his adulthood in L.A.

You can hear the influence of such musical stalwarts as the Pogues in their hard hitting vocals but unlike Shane, Irish born Dave King can sing and he belts out the tunes with great gusto. The seven piece band are all confident musicians who I think would be even better in the flesh. If they ever visit our sunny shores, I’ll be pogoing down the front.

Combining Irish folk rhythms with punk flavourings, you can’t go wrong with this lot. Great tunes, really good lyrics – the makings of the new folk tradition. With a fistful of albums under their collective arms, their newest “Float” is to be released in March. Meanwhile below is the video of “Drunken Lullubies” from the album by the same name.

On their MySpace site you can hear a number of tracks from a variety of their albums, my pick is “Requiem For A Dying Song”Artist: Flogging Molly
Website:www.floggingmolly.com
Track Name: Requiem For A Dying Song
Playback: flash
Download?: No