Dropkick Murphys: Going Out in Style

"The Dropkick Murphys did a few things differently on their new album, 'Going Out in Style.' For one thing, the band (including West Hartford native Tim Brennan on guitar) didn't tour last fall during the making of the record, which meant the musicians were fully focused on the writing and recording process. Also, it's more of a narrative album. 'This is our "London Calling," in a way,' singer Al Barr says, referring to the Clash's seminal release during a phone call from Minneapolis, on a tour that stops Sunday at Mohegan Sun. 'It's brought us to a new level with ourselves in terms of songwriting and approaching recording.' Although the Boston Celtic-punk act has often traced narrative paths through individual songs -- the band's iconic single 'I'm Shipping Up to Boston,' featured in Martin Scorsese's film 'The Departed,' is something of a story song -- the group carries a theme through all of 'Going Out in Style.' 'One of the first songs the band wrote was what ended up being the title track, and we just kind of realized with the title song that we had this character, and it would be kind of cool to thread this character's life throughout the record,' Barr says. The character is Cornelius Larkin. The title track takes place at a wake for the Irish immigrant, and the album traces his life -- through his arrival in America as a teen, his military service during the Korean War and his family life with a wife and nine kids" (Eric R. Danton, "Dropkick Murphys Very Much 'In Style,'" Sound Check, 3/1/11).
View catalog record here!