I first came across this group of guys as the “Gartloney Rats” when they played at the Fox and Firkin in Tea Tree Gully. And I was instantly hooked. Here’s a bunch of guys out there working hard at having a good time. It’s impossible not to get caught up in the energy of what they do.
Unfortunately the Rats are no more, but a few of the boys have reformed with members from the Imports and Didley Idle and are now a smaller band called The Shambolics. They are working on an EP for release this year called ‘Pogue Mahone’.
In their words, they play “Raucous Rollickin’ Roots Celtic Rock, with banjo, mando, accordian, guitars, harp and even highland pipes“. They play mainly original tunes around Adelaide and when they do covers, it’s as if they wrote them anyway.
There’s really nothing to review about the song itself. The vocals aren’t polished, and of that I’m glad; it would ruin the song. The musicianship is great; reminiscent of every movie you’ve ever seen set in an Irish pub. The Title and catchphrase in the song, Pogue Mahone, is a variant of the Irish phrase póg mo thóin, meaning “kiss my arse” (also the derivation of the name of the band, The Pogues. I’ve listened to a few other of the songs on the Gartloney Rats Myspace site (yes, Myspace) and it puts me in mind of a Boston based punk-Celtic band called the “Drop Kick Murphys”
The Shambolics are a no-nonsense go-hard-or-go-home Celtic party band. Find a room, pour yourself a Guinness, shut the door and turn it up.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shambolics/312577075532235