Record Review: Flogging Molly - Float

The age old adage that punk is dead has never been truer... and in the case for Flogging Molly, thank God. When Flogging Molly blitzed onto the punk scene with Side One Dummy in 2000, they helped breathe life into the dying genre. Sly comparisons were made to their likeness to The Bouncing Souls, The Dropkick Murphys, or even a distant one to The Pogues, but as the years progressed so did the compassion in their sound. The aforementioned similarities kicked aside with their third album Within a Mile From Home, a return to Irish heritage and singer songwriter roots had the band mentioned in the same breath as Dylan, Neil Young, and Van Morrison. Molly's latest effort Float does not disappoint: most bands think with their brains, Flogging Molly bleed with their hearts.Soul has never sounded this good.In 39 minutes, Molly accomplishes what some bands could never do in a lifetime. In a mere 39 minutes, Flogging Molly leaves behind any meaning of what is was to once be thrown into the same category as a pop-punk band, breathing emotion into every word sang, barking through every chorus harmonized, bleeding through every note strum, and collapsing after every song ends. It took Dylan 51 minutes to accomplish this on Blood on the Tracks.Molly blitzes through the opening of the album with the anthemic first single, Requiem For a Dying Song. No bashing of Bush, or hailing about drunken debauchery with this first single as seen in their all so recent past; however, Flogging Molly does not disappoint. Requiem’s rear stings into Paddy’s Lament, leaving the listener weathered and worn... beaten from exhaustion of having to choke back tears and clearing their throats, only to wash it all away with liquor as they hear King’s homage to Johnny Cash, in the title track, Float. The rest of the album never misses a beat. With all this emotion being poured out, Flogging Molly achieves what many bands fail to do. Their is no whining, their is no crying, just straight up blues. To listen to Float and not be moved is to fail to see the miracle in birth, the beauty of a thunderstorm, and the innocence and joy of a child’s smile. It’s ok though. Not everyone knows what it’s like to have a soul.