This album was originally reviewed in October 2007.  The URL has changed along with BandVox’s new format.  Please adjust your bookmarks.

As with many of the bands that I review here, I first heard Enter The Haggis on Shite ‘n Onions. For months, their album Soapbox Heroes sat on my wishlist. I was about to finally order the CD, along with several others when I found that Enter The Haggis would be playing nearby. Excellent! So I saved up the cash for another two weeks, and headed off to the Celtic Fling. Not only did I get one of the best CDs ever, but I got to see this amazing band live.

While ETH is heavily influenced by world beats, they have an equally strong footing in Celtic and folk sounds. Their opening song Lancaster Gate is a very modern bagpipe tune. If you’re familiar with the band Off Kilter, this song will sound like home. It has a more modern, rocky sound than Off Kilter’s music, but is similar enough that celtophiles should be immediately drawn to it. By contrast, No More Stones has a strong country rock tone. Normally, I despise country, but these boys can turn common rocks into gems. Cynical carries over the celtic overtones and is also where the name of the album comes from( And we’re so lazy/we’re soapbox heroes/and we’ve got so much to say ).

Marti’s Last Stand and One Last Drink are strong in celtic theming (the first being a pascifist who’s forced into battle, and could apply to any person in any war, though it may be about a specific person- the second is about an old man who refuses to die until morning so he can have one last celebration).

Normally I abhore any song that makes me cry, but ETH’s The Barfly is so stirring that it really stands out on its own, and I won’t turn it off no matter how the tears fall. It’s about an old man and how he lost his wife and two daughters. While both daughters are still alive, one has moved far away and never contacts him, while the other lost her own husband, and hasn’t spoken since. There may be piano music in the rest of the album, I haven’t noticed it, but in The Barfly it really stands out and underscores the mood of the song.

This is an excellent CD. Very clean and professional without losing an ounce of individuality. The varied influences make Enter The Haggis popular with fans of many genres, though more particularly with fans of Celtic music. I highly recommend Soapbox Heroes, and am anxiously awaiting their next album.