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The new band members are all significantly younger than Paul McKenzie, which naturally raises questions about why the musicians who previously played in the band are no longer involved. Is the touring life of the band too tough? Did the band have different musical ideas than Paul? Or is Paul McKenzie afraid of aging and trying to slow down this natural process with young musicians?
The album comes in a beautiful digipack with a lyric sheet. The cover is inspired by a label from a whiskey bottle. Nice idea.
The first song of the album, “Wha saw the 42nd,” is a powerful track from the band, featuring strong bagpipe use and exemplifying what the band has stood for over the past 23 years: powerful folk-punk. The song itself is still quite restrained in tempo, which only makes it feel even stronger.
The second song, “Up on a Motorbike,” is a rather atypical song for the band. It leans heavily towards country-rock, but has a beautiful vocal line and a melodic beat, making this unusual song for the band almost perfectly arranged.
With “Who'd a thought,” the fans are back on the same page as the band. An absolutely typical song from the Canadian band. Fast, light bagpipe use, with Paul’s vocals soaring above it all. A pogo anthem, a sing-along number, a song that will surely leave open mouths in the audience during live performances, astonished at the breathtaking tempo the band plays at. Anyone who has seen the band live knows that the songs on the album, even if played quickly, do not match the live tempo. This is always higher.
The next songs are all typical songs of the band in all their quality. Those who like the band will also enjoy these songs. Those who have not liked the band so far will surely not warm to them with this album either.
THE REAL MC KENZIES do what they can. For this, they are loved by many people all over the world. Others can experiment, although it must be said that “Up on a Motorbike” or the blues number “Bootsy the Haggis-eating Cat” do stand out a bit, and positively so.
The only small drawback of the album is that it feels a bit too polished for me. Perhaps this is due to the young band, or maybe the studio. I miss that certain roughness and edge that characterized the last albums.
THE REAL MC KENZIES will present this album on an extensive tour. The tour is already underway in Canada and the USA, and later the band will come to Europe. The Canadians will be on tour continuously from now until the end of May!
