THE GOBSHITES - When the Shite Hits the Fans (Goodcop Badcop Records) "FECK OFF OR BUY ME A BEER" - That's the motto printed on the back of their t-shirts and the prevailing attitude of Boston based band the Gobshites. Started as a side project by gracefully aging punk rocker Pete Walsh, a.k.a. Pete Depressed, the Gobshites mix the drunken punk sensibility of Pete's other band, Meat Depressed, with traditional Irish musical stylings to form an utterly unique and outrageously fun new genre which they've dubbed acousticelticore. On their first release on Goodcop/Badcop Records the Gobshites augment the punk rock essentials of guitar, bass and drums with banjo, fiddle, pennywhistle, mandolin, accordion and even bagpipes to put a distinctly Irish spin on some exceedingly obscure punk gems from both sides of the Atlantic. And when it comes to mining punk gold Pete definitely knows his shite. This eclectic collection of beer soaked ditties and raucous sing-along kicks off with "Hurry Up Harry" by punk legends Sham 69 and segues into "Let's Get Drunk" by the U.K. Subs, a song that sums up the Gobshites mood about as well as their logo, a leprechaun flipping the bird that was drawn by John Holmstrom of PUNK magazine. Some of the covers of more well known punk icons include "Drinking Again" by Stiff Little Fingers, "Some Hearts", a tender ballad by Johnny Thunders, and its polar opposite, "Drink Fight & Fuck" by G.G. Allin. A couple of the more obscure British covers include "Arsehole" by Snuff and "Guinness Boys", an ode to the black nectar of the beer gods originally done by the Business as a soccer hooligan anthem. Sex Pistols, Ramones and Black Flag are well represented with a fittingly faithful version of the Pistols take on "Friggin' in the Riggin'", a re-work of "It's a Long Way Back" and a version of "6 Pack" that is, in a word, Brilliant! In a nod to their heritage they include "Irish" by Boston's own punk legends Darkbuster. Since they were formed as a side project they pay homage to the tradition with a cover of Dee Dee King's punk rap song "2 Much 2 Drink" and a pair of songs by the Yobs, a Christmas project by Brit punk band the Boys, that includes "Christmas Eve in the Boozer" and will have you singing out loud "Whoops I've done a liquid fart". The notion of a side project comes full circle with an Irish tinged remake of Meat Depressed's "Cheers (Raise a Pint)". This is one of the catchiest, most listenable discs i've heard in a long time and their 7 piece live show is one hell of a drunken good time so check the dates on their site, go to a show and get roaring pissed. - Lou Costa http://www.askewreviews.com
