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Just when we've thought a band couldn't impress us more than their previous recording with a new project--there's NO WAY that it would or could--then the band's CD slaps us upside the head with a reality check. Here's a million dollars earned fairly. Sorry, no million dollars; bands and I are poor! It's a good thing, though, to use "lottery"-type talk in a CD review, specifically here.

Back to the work at hand, Flatfoot 56 adds bagpipes to Celtic punk flair, and there's not only bagpipes this time around, but mandolin and even a tin whistle! Following Waves of War_ the band's previous full-length project, Flatfoot 56 recorded a three-song demo that helped put a light on the yet-to-be-recorded and released full-length follow-up. Knuckles Up begins with the punk tendency from the get-go, with the title track. There's plenty of punk fist-pumping and chanting "oi!" here. All the songs on Knuckles Up could stand alone, and it flows well as a CD. "Fight to Live," "Knuckles Up," and "Blood and Sweat" speak of courage of another kind, and  Flatfoot 56 presents take-charge with unity in "Brotherhood," and a punk rendition of "Amazing Grace."

This recording ties together Celtic punk with that punk grit, attack-wise,vocally and musically. If the listener likes good ol' punk rock, with Celtic flair, no poppy cheese, and plenty of fun, purchase this project ASAP!

Len Nash    July 31, 2004