Like most of my favorite Celtic punk bands, I first heard The Skels on Shite ‘n Onions on Live365. After hearing Have A Drink Ya’ Bastards I decided that I absolutely had to have at least one of their CDs. It took a few months for me to get around to actually ordering it, but I finally got my copy of Any Port In A Storm, and I love it! The Skels are a perfect blending of Celtic tradition and modern (but not pop) punk. All the songs on this disc are original, and packed with attitude.Chris Freid’s lead vocals are not what you would call smooth. But I love it. Not only his voice, but his attitude suits the band’s punchy music straight down to the ground. I can’t imagine their sound with anyone else in the lead.

I don’t know how the songs are written (individually, collectively, drunk, sober), but the lyrics always crack me up either with their humor or their audacity, and the music itself always makes me want to get up and dance. Wild and drunken style dancing, but dance nevertheless.

I should say that most of The Skels’ songs give me a much appreciated shot of energy. Come Hell Or High Water is actually a beautiful song, calm and wistful. A song like this in a more traditional Celtic band could make a name for the singer.

This isn’t the best cd to play if you’re at work, unless your co-workers are fairly easy going. I can guarantee you that if there’s a prim and proper person nearby, the first thing they’ll hear is the line “balls to your partner, your ass against the wall” (Pauper’s Grave). I can’t tell you how many times it’s happened to me.

If you already love bands in the Celtic Punk genre, absolutely give them a try.  If you’re fairly new to the genre, take a listen first.  This ain’t no wishy-washy won’t-offend-anyone kind of band.

For a quick taste of the Skel’s music, click here for their MySpace page. Currently, you can even listen to Pauper’s Grave which is my current favorite of their songs.

Or, better yet! Download the MP3s from Amazon:

This entry was posted on Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 3:11 am and is filed under Original Music, Pub/Drinking Music, Punk, reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.