Wednesday 21 February 2018

Album Review: Kearney's Jig by Kearney's Jig (by Dan Peters)


Funny Oi With An Identity Crisis.

I love when new music is just dropped on us with no sing song or fanfare. And last Wednesday (at the time of writing this) Bristol Oi outfit Kearney’s Jig dropped an EP in our laps to enjoy on Spotify. Now normally I’m not much of a fan of this style of thing but there’s a big caveat to that. I think this sort of thing lends itself incredibly well to having a sense of humour and that is something very evident with Kearney’s Jig.


With songs like ‘Death By Erection’ and ‘Chronic Alcoholic’ you really know what you’re getting straight away, this isn’t likely to be the kind of thing you’d pull out for a date with that cute girl you just met (unless you met her at a basement punk show in Bristol). But it is the perfect thing to stick on loud with a bag of cans and all your buddies around. Everything is tongue in cheek and funny in an endearing way that doesn’t lose its charm on multiple listens.

That is until track number 5 rolls around. ‘Insanity Breakdown’ while not being bad in any sense, feels like it was written by or for another band entirely. There’s no humour to be found, the structure and tone are unrecognisable and it breaks immersion in the EP, especially when the very next song is about downing cans of Red Stripe!! As I mentioned, it’s a good song but feels pretty out of place amongst self-deprecating gross out comedy and beer songs. Maybe they should think of losing the Simpsons reference in the band name if they want to move into deeper subject matter.

Bristol is a hotbed these days for new talent and Kearney’s Jig fill a niche that I think is important in any thriving scene – a good time, drinking song, sing-a-long band. If you’re a fan of The Wonder Beers you’ll find a lot here to love but be warned, if you suffer from intense seriousness this is probably something best avoided altogether.

Like Kearney's Jig here: https://www.facebook.com/Woodewooo/

This review was written by Dan Peters.

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