The punk legends of the 1970s are dead. The remaining giants of
80’s punk are all getting old. It is time for the new school of
punk to rise to the occasion and lead the genre into the
future.

In the past 10 years an impressive crop of punk bands have
stepped forward to carry the torch, such as Alkaline Trio, the
Bouncing Souls and Tiger Army. Also in this group is the
Californian Celtic-punk band Flogging Molly.

Since their inception in 1997, Flogging Molly has produced three
classic punk albums and has a fan base of hundreds of thousands.
This achievement is pretty impressive for a band so young.

The latest FM album, “Within A Mile of Home,” is their finest
album to date. The focal point of the band is Irish front man Dave
King.

King is actually from Ireland, and his red hair and Irish accent
add a true Irish flavor to the band’s sound. Musically and
lyrically, “Within A Mile of Home” is more of an “Irish” album than
the band’s previous albums.

On first listen, it appears that FM is simply sticking to their
tried-and-true fiddle-pipe-and-punk routine of the first two
albums.

After several listens, however, it becomes apparent to the
seasoned fan that the band is fine-tuning their sound by
experimenting more with the use of fiddle, accordion and pipes as
well as developing more interesting bass lines. The minor tweaks to
their sound produce an album that is surprisingly fresh.

“Within A Mile of Home” opens with a sucker-punch called
“Screaming at the Wailing Wall.” “Screaming” is a typical top-notch
FM song; it is ungodly catchy and rowdy.

In addition to musical superiority, “Screaming” tackles a
political theme that makes it all the more powerful, especially in
the light of current world events.

On “Screaming”, King gives a Biblical twist on his political
views when he sings, “I’ll liberate your people’s fate/ Spoke the
Burning Bush/ But the Song of Beasts/ Growl with oil soaked teeth/
Their dollar is mighty and true.”

The next song on the album, “Seven Deadly Sins,” begins with
banjo and musical spoons then explodes into one of the fastest,
hardest songs in the band’s catalogue. “Seven Deadly Sins” is both
a drinking anthem and a mosh-pit call-to-arms.

The crown-jewel on “Within A Mile of Home” is “Tobacco Island,”
which lands right in the middle of the album. “Tobacco Island” is a
song about Irish hardships throughout history, namely the
oppression brought on by Oliver Cromwell.

While the seafaring lyrics of exile are wonderful, it is the
music that makes “Tobacco Island” so great: The last minute of the
song is an incredibly solid Celtic jam with emphasis on the banjo.
It is easily the best FM song to date.

After “Tobacco Island,” the next essential song is “The
Wanderlust.” “The Wanderlust” showcases a more interesting
bass-line than most of the album’s songs offer. The intro is simply
drum, bass and pipes and the resulting sound is highly
infectious.

“Within A Mile of Home” ends with the slow funeral march “Don’t
Let Me Die Still Wondering.”

“Still Wondering” is a wonderfully remorseful song with a lovely
melody and a somber horn arrangement. It brings closure to the
album, ending on a sad note but leaving the listener with a smile
on his face.

On “Within A Mile of Home,” Flogging Molly proves that there is
no reason to change a good thing, especially if you are the best at
doing it.