Review: On the Scalding Sea

On the Scalding Sea
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Genre: Contemporary Pirate Folk
Rating: PG

For seeming so mellow, Marooned has always been a band willing to stir sh!t up, albeit in their own, off-kilter and generally understated ways. Their early albums, Marooned and Better than Live, were upbeat releases that covertly delighted in songs of death and misery. Dance McCaw took a more cheerful approach in tone and content alike before sinking deeply into full on depression with the darkest version of The Mermaid known to mankind. And now they truly shake things up with On the Scalding Sea – because where most pirate albums take place in the mythological world of the “Caribbean,” this album takes place in the mythological world of “Elfwood,” complete with Dwargs (dwarves), M’raak (orcs), and Drey (bee people, apparently. Not bee keepers, but actual bee people. I think.)

The album begins with Revels of the M’raak. The song begins slow and deep. As is their usual style, Marooned comes across authentic and clear with measured male vocals before the ladies chime in to add a more melodious (and decidedly less orc-like) overtone. This song is a tale of longing and wandering, although it also contains a line about “refusing elvish revisions” which I assume is a dig on AD&D 4th Edition. Continue reading

Review: Bail Money

cd-bmI’ll never forget my first meeting with the Bilge Pumps. It was in a seedy back alley pub – more of a shack, really – in the red light district of the Philippines. These were the closing days of the cold war, and the Bilge Pumps had made quite the name for themselves amongst the covert circuit as NATO’s very best choice for freelance maritime demolitions. Their preferred method was to infiltrate targeted boats from beneath, hence the team’s codename, The Bilge Pumps.

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Review: Dance Macaw

Rating: ★★★½☆
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Dance MacawIn the world of pirate music, Marooned has always seemed to me a band apart. Neither in-your-face pirate-core (too soft and subdued in nature) nor background easy listening (too stand-out in its sharply contrasted male and female vocals), their music is at once understated yet domineering – somewhat like a passive-aggressive pirate captain with a penchant for morbidity. Continue reading

Review: Pirate Santa CD

Rating: ★★★★☆
www.piratesanta.com

Having reviewed the children’s book Pirate Santa nearly one year ago, it seems a fine time to introduce the companion CD. Yes, it features a booming voice reading the story. And yes, it includes weird and wonderful sound effects. These you expected. What you might not have expected would be the additional music thrown in for good measure.

For those unfamiliar, Mister Mac is a pirate. A pirate, and a children’s singer. Approximately 37 feet tall, his shiny bald head has sometimes been mistaken for the sun, and the adoring children gathering at his ankles appear no more than two apples tall. Yes, much like Smurfs, only less blue.

Where was I? Continue reading

Review: Kraken Up

Rating: ★★★½☆
www.boundingmain.com

Genre: Traditional and traditional-style sea shanteys
Rating: PG
Target Audience: Grownups, older kids, folks who prefer sugar and lime in their grog rather than sand and gunpowder

As a fan of pirate music, I often find myself amongst the villainous and off-key. Pirate music is commonly gritty, sinister, and more concerned with setting a swashbuckling mood than achieving musical perfection – and God love ’em for it! That said, once in a while it’s good to rise up from the bilges, sober up, maybe take a bath, and listen to some artists that have opted for a different, more polished musical endeavor. And that’s where Bounding Main is time and again a favorite amongst so many shanty-fans. Continue reading

Review: A Pirate’s Christmas Wish

Rating: ★★★½☆
www.thebilgepumps.com

Do I even need to review this album? I mean, seriously – all I need to do is say, “Pirate Christmas CD” and then add, “by The Bilge Pumps,” and then I’d guess most readers will immediately do the math and go running (to or from the album may vary from reader to reader :P)

OK, maybe some of you aren’t already familiar with The Bilge Pumps (seriously? I mean, don’t you even listen to Bilgemunky Radio?), so perhaps I should elaborate. The Bilge Pumps are a pirate shanty/comedy group. Their music is appropriately rough, swaggerly, and peppered with the sorts of off-taste comments you sorta-wish-the-kids-hadn’t-heard-but-maybe-it-went-over-their-heads-and-besides-they-have-to-grow-up-someday. Continue reading

Review: Here There Be Pirates and Scallywag

Rating: ★★★½☆
www.myspace.com/tugbromberg

For those of us who focus primarily on Pirate-Core style music, meaning that which bends&blends the pirate genre into new and exciting directions, it’s sometimes important – and refreshing – to revisit the roots of the genre. However, sea shanties as often performed can often come across rather soft and bland compared to the gritty villainy found on more theatrical pirate CDs, which is why the likes of Tugboat Bromberg fill such a nice gap. Tugboat performs what I can only call “minimalist” pirate music – mostly just himself and a guitar. His voice isn’t exactly sinister, but it has just enough scratch to reach a “casually crusty” point that sounds right at home with pirate material. Continue reading

Review: Score!

Rating: ★★★★½
2010 marks the 20th anniversary of legendary pirate shanty group The Jolly Rogers, and they honor the occasion in style with Score!, being a classical Jolly Rogers CD if ever there was one. Shanties – traditional and original alike – fill out the bulk of this 19 track album, ranging from fast to slow, adventuresome to bawdy… it’s the Jolly Rogers we’ve come to know and love these past two decades, no doubt! Continue reading

Review: Inner Buccaneer

Rating: ★★★½☆
www.thebrigands.com
Genre: Contemporary Pirate Folk.
Rating: PG
Target Audience: Fans of folk-inspired pirate tunes and jigs

So most “real” news outlets mention when they have a vested interest in a story – full disclosure and whatnot. Seems like a good idea, so I think it’s fair to mention that The Brigands bought me breakfast a few months back. Coffee, eggs, bacon… there might have been some sort of bread involved, like an english muffin or toast, but I don’t rightly recall. I probably drank a bit of rum the night before, so memory may be sketchy. But the bacon is remembered, and appreciated. But let me assure you, it doesn’t affect this review in the least…

INNER BUCCANEER IS THE GREATEST CD OF ALL TIME AND YOU SHOULD BUY THREE COPIES RIGHT THIS MINUTE. Continue reading

Review: Rise

Rating: ★★★★★
Genre: Pirate folk rock
Rating: PG-13
Target Audience: Pirates. If you don’t love this album, you’re a poser.

A review of The Pirates Charles’ new album Rise almost seems redundant. I mean, it’s The Pirates Charles for crike’s sake! And, as always, this album is full of “almost traditional” music akin to what pirates would have listened to if only they’d thought of it. If you’ve heard their earlier albums, then you know what I mean. And if you’ve ever seen them live, then you know it even moreso. Continue reading