Real Mckenzies

The Real McKenzies do for Scottish folk music what the Pogues did for the traditional music of Ireland. They rev it up to a speed and power that approximate punk rock, but still maintain the melodic sense of the original sound, and sometimes use bagpipes and acoustic guitars to give it a taste of folkie authenticity, while the lyrics deal with the joys and tragedies of Scottish history, as well as the group's well-documented love of booze.

You know these songs. Even if you’ve never even been to Scotland, even if you’re not a seafaring type, you know them. That’s because the twelve anthems—and make no mistake, these are anthems—The Real McKenzies have picked for this new album have been sung by others for decades, if not centuries.

I don’t know how The Real McKenzies manage to record albums in between all that touring, but they do! After 25 years of Celtic Punk loaded with with The Real McKenzies trademark, the bagpipes, they don not only start a new tour in which they visit Canada and Europe, but they put a new album out as well. 14 Tracks of the well know The Real McKenzies stuff, boring? No, they are never boring. But don’t expect entirely new things on this albums and to be honest, that wouldn’t fit on an album which marks the unique point in their career.

“Two Devils Will Talk” marks The Real McKenzies’ eleventh full length, and their first one since 2015’s “Rats In The Burlap.” It’s due out this Friday, March 3rd, on their longtime label home of Fat Wreck Chords. Two Devils Will Talk is packed with fourteen rousing songs that incorporate classic punk, hard folk, acoustic and electric instruments, all weaving in the Celtic influence for which the band is known.

Short Music for Short People is a 1999 compilation album released on the Fat Wreck Chords record label. It features 101 bands playing songs averaging approximately 30 seconds in length.With a few exceptions, most of the album's tracks were written and recorded specifically for this release at the request of Fat Wreck Chords founder and NOFX bassist/vocalist Fat Mike. The compilation peaked at #191 on the Billboard 200.