Flogging Molly: Celtic punk from Los Angeles and the sound familiar from “Swagger”

The band formed in Los Angeles in 1997, founded by Irish immigrant, guitarist and singer Dave King and American violinist Bridget Regan. Almost immediately, they shook up the Californian music scene, eluding every label. At the heart of Flogging Molly’s music is punk rock enriched with Celtic instruments — fiddle, mandolin and accordion — and a combination of blues progressions, roaring guitars and traditional Irish music, the music of frontman Dave King’s youth.

Their music is about exile and rebellion, struggle, history and protest: the music of a divided country that does not know the meaning of surrender. In every note of every song, Flogging Molly express enormous respect for that determination. This sociopolitical awareness mattered from the outset to their rapidly growing following. Their 2000 debut, “Swagger”, surpassed audiences’ and critics’ expectations, and “The Worst Day Since Yesterday” featured on the “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” soundtrack.

Basking in worldwide fame, the band maintained their momentum and released the excellent “Drunken Lullabies” just two years later. It quickly went gold. In 2004, they released “Within a Mile of Home”, followed four years later, in 2008, by “Float”, a profound, stirring and personal album recorded in the country most important to Dave King: his native Ireland. The album reached number 4 on the Billboard chart and finally cemented the band’s position.

Throughout this period, Flogging Molly, a live band through and through, were on the road, giving loud, adrenaline-soaked performances in bars and pubs and at almost every major rock festival in North America, Europe and Japan. In 2010, they released the live album “Flogging Molly: Live at the Greek Theatre”, capturing their incredible stage energy, followed a year later by the studio firecracker “Speed of Darkness”. Fans waited many years for the next album, and at last their patience has been rewarded. “Life is Good” will be released on 2 June, less than three weeks before the Wrocław concert. Polish fans will be among the first to hear songs from the record!

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