Do or Die, the first album from Massachusetts’ Celtic punk band the Dropkick Murphys, was recorded 20 years ago. They’ve come a long way since the scrappy (but excellent) mayhem of tracks like Get Up, Barroom Hero, and Finnegan’s Wake. 11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory is smooth and professional. But is it better?
11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory is the first not to feature pipers Scruffy Wallace or Spicy McHaggis since the year 2000. There’s still bagpipes, there’s still the tin whistle, but many of the tracks here – Rebels with a Cause, Blood – roll along at a relatively sedate pace, for the Murphys. They tell the sorts of stories we’ve come to expect: about the lives of losers (First Class Loser) and the childhoods of the working class in Boston (The Sandlot).
In many ways the band is in great shape. They’re independently producing the music they want to produce and their charity The Claddagh Fund continues to work supporting vulnerable communities in Boston and Philadelphia. Their own struggles with addiction and poverty seem long gone. But 11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory just doesn’t grab your attention.
By Josh Fergeus
