Dropkick Murphys: For The People

For the People is the thirteenth album by the Celtic punk veterans Dropkick Murphys. The album’s official streaming debut was likely timed for the 4th of July for more dramatic purposes, but that may be where the anthemic character of this release ends.

Don’t get me wrong, the album is very good. It lacks any trace of nonsense, there are no experiments (with the exception maybe of the single Sirens, which will be included on the physical copies of the record along with a few more tracks), however there are also no instantly catchy hits like the ones we’ve grown used to on their past releases.

Having said that, this is by no means a bad thing. The whole record feels more like a bottle of Irish whiskey aging patiently in a barrel than a fancy overpriced craft beer. In my opinion, the full potential of this release will only be discovered in the years to come. We’ll be coming back to it with nostalgia, remembering the good old days when we fell asleep on the floor the first time we listened to it (true story).

Perhaps the greatest achievement of this release is that, as you listen to it, you find yourself in a warm and familiar atmosphere, surrounded by real stories in which new and long-forgotten friends show up to contribute their own version of the narrative. Stories about the struggles of the working class people, tales of relatives and friends who are no longer with us, stories about what it means to be human and how to cope with the hardships we all go through. A true folklore of the Celtic sound, a genuine and unpretentious Dropkick Murphys’ album.

The opening track Who’ll Stand With Us? feels like a natural successor to earlier Murphys songs like Worker’s Song or Take ’Em Down, reinforcing the band’s identity as more than just a punk band. It channels their energy and working-class spirit, urging listeners to stick together in the face of hardship.

Chesterfields and Aftershave, Bury the Bones (with a melody charmingly reminiscent of Kiss Me I’m Shitfaced), School Days Over, The Vultures Circle High (where we can hear Al Barr once again, even if only for a single track), and One Last Goodbye (in which we bid farewell to the Irish music legend Shane MacGowan) are just part of the tracklist of this well-crafted album that we will keep rediscovering in the future.

Also worth noting is The Big Man, a fast, bouncy tribute to Fletcher of Pennywise. The lyrics paint Fletcher as the life of the party, a notorious prankster and a legendary figure in the punk scene - someone who’s equally capable of wrecking your hotel room but also giving you the shirt off his back.

Give For the People a try, you might really like it.