Dropkick Murphys combine good old Irish folk music with hard-hitting, socially minded, punk music, and to boot they mix in a good dose of humour. And this is exactly the way I like it! No kiddie-punk or a run of the mill punk act. No, Dropkick Murphys are in a league of their own. With their previous album Sing Loud, Sing Proud they utterly blew me away. The catchy tunes and the mixture of serious politically minded (pro-left) lyrics and hilarious song writing would have been enough to hook me. But the bagpipes and other Irish folk elements just took that album to untold heights. And far beyond anything they had done before.

So now we have come to their latest album: Blackout. Much like Sing Loud, Sing Proud we are served a good mixture of songs about the working class and songs that truly crack me up. The folk element has perhaps been pushed back a tiny bit, but is still present at the forefront. Just not as much as on Sing Loud, Sing Proud perhaps. By doing this the Dropkick Murphys have made sure they do not repeat themselves. And that is not something most other bands in this scene can say about themselves.

All the familiar elements are present, but the entire album has a slightly harder edge and offers the listener some truly new songs. Take a song like, The Dirty Glass on which a female vocalist sings a "duet" with vocalist Al Barr. Don't expect any sweet female vocals however, or a romantic ballet actually, where they express one and others love. No, we are treated to one hell of a fight. Name calling, insults and the struggle of a relationship gone bad. A song about trying to be man when still in truth being a boy, and getting a good old kick in the back by life itself.

Overall I have to say Blackout is Dropkick Murphys at their best yet again. I don't know if it will top Sing Loud, Sing Proud for me, but this album for sure will be on heavy rotation for some time. Intelligent -yet funny- punk, cleaver lyrics and great upbeat music you can jig on to your hearts desire, or scream along with at the top of your lungs. And just to show how important the lyrics and the themes are, you can find explanations about the theme of every song on their official website.

Oh, one last note. This album comes with a bonus DVD, which unfortunately is close to useless. It is basically a promotional DVD to get you to buy the up and coming full DVD. But in true good punk spirit the price of the CD is not raised even one cent for this extra bonus. And that in a day and age where most record labels try and make us pay for useless DVD add-ons or bonus discs. I for sure raise my glass to the Dropkick Murphys once again.