Blackout

Includes a bonus DVD disc.
Dropkick Murphys: Al Barr, Ken Casey, Ryan Foltz, Matt Kelly, James Lynch, Marc Orrell.
Additional personnel: Stephanie Dougherty (vocals); Joe Delaney (bag pipes).
Recorded at The Outpost, Stoughton, Massachusetts.
When faced with a hyper-stylized pop music landscape, young'uns may find it hard to imagine that there once was a time when John Mellencamp actually did live in a small town and Bruce Springsteen hung out with the blue-collar tough guys who populate his songs. Luckily, anyone with a hankering for authentic working class rock still has the Dropkick Murphys. Sure the sonic palette may be a little different, but the sentiment is the same; the Murphys favor equal parts New York Dolls and METAL CIRCUS-era Husker Du hardcore fury over heartland twang, but like every great regular guy album from BORN TO RUN to THE LONESOME JUBILEE, BLACKOUT celebrates the triumph of the individual's spirit over "fat cats" and the sad conundrum of everyday existence. In addition, with their liberal use of traditional Irish instrumentation and explicit references to their hometown of Boston, the Dropkick Murphys manage to turn outrage and existential angst into something akin to a wild summer block party.