Category: Irish Trad

Bourbon Brawlers – Befriend Your Sins

Release date: 06/23/2018

Format: Digital

Label:  Records DK2ecords DK2

Location: Welby, Colorado

Current Lineup:

• Damien – drums
  Snoopy – stand-up bass
  Rusty – washboard and vocals
  Scott – banjo
  Tom – mandolin
  Raul – harmonica and vocals
  Mike – guitar and vocals

Favorite Tracks:  U.N.P.C, Light It Up

Sounds Like: Flogging Molly, Alternative Ulster, The Grinning Barrets, The Pogues, Frank Turner, The Trash Cats, and The Real McKenzies

There are so many bummers about this for me.  First, I am soooo bummed I missed them at the Seventh Circle Music Collective.  Next, I am bummed it took me this long to find these guys. The final bummer of the trifecta; I will never get to hear this for the first time again.  I would be remiss if i didn’t say that I went into this a little apprehensively. I was told they were “Folk Punk.” Rarely do folk and punk go hand in hand in my book.

Sure, I will hear about the Billy Braggs of the world, but in actual application I am not a fan.  In truth, 8 songs weren’t enough for me. What a gem for the Denver music scene to have! I love the way the gritty vocals blended with the raw hillbilly vibe.  To me, music is always a background soundtrack to life and this will be in my soundtrack for awhile.

Check out what their pitch man had to say!  “First I have to tell you the human interest hook. The drummer was randomly and viciously stabbed 5 times on Colfax in Denver, Colorado by a raging psychopath in June. 8 days later he skipped out of the hospital to play the Bourbon Brawlers CD release at Lost Lake in Denver. Then returned to the hospital to finish healing up because he still had a blood clot in his lung.

That’s about as punk rock as you can get. So the Bourbon Brawlers are the Dropkick Murphys of Denver. A 7 piece folk/punk/Irish bar band for the drinking crowd very loose but still in the pocket and overall fun. Their instruments are the standard guitar and drums but also use banjo, washboard, mandolin and stand up bass. The new album is called “Befriend Your Sins” and has 10 tracks.” Doug Newville

Track List

1. Revolution
2. Never
3. Irish Yoga
4. Light It Up
5. U.N.P.C.
6. The Legend Of Shorts McGraw
7. Weight Of The World
8. Backseat

Links:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bourbonbrawlers/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bourbonbrawlers/
• Purchase Link: https://bourbonbrawlers.bandcamp.com/album/befriend-your-sins
• Spotify:
• https://open.spotify.com/artist/4z7nOrwgSGxqIoTdDurcn0?si=EYSzKfjITKCEGvIgyhY3Eg

About the writer: Old crab that stands in the back and complains that it was better in my day, but is 100% for the youth take over.  I’m a contradiction that thrives on holding on to rebellion with one foot on either side. – Lala