"This is Irish rock 'n' roll!"

As you listen to "The Juice" from The Mary Wallopers latest album Paddywhackery, try to stay calm as Andrew Hendy belts out this line before the uillean pipe breakdown takes this tune to another level.

Like The Pogues before them, it's a perfect pairing of punk's raucous energy and the free spirit of Irish folk music, and what makes the Dundalk band's third album so special.

Paddywhackery, a term referencing exagerated or stereotypical portrayals of Irish culture, is proudly and explicitly Irish from start to finish, and never shies away from calling out the lasting harm of centuries of British oppression.

"Crowns of England" alone is a worthy history lesson and entry point into the views of The Mary Wallopers.

In a little over three minutes we learn the union jack can also be called "The butcher's apron," that Winston Churchill is no hero in Ireland, that in English pubs the patrons "don't dance or sing, they just watch football," and I could go on on.

Alltogether, it's a classic protest song about the Irish diaspora living throughout the UK, the oppression of their culture, and their eternal connection to Ireland, or as the Mary Wallopers call it, "Erin's shore."

Read the full review on our Fresh Picks page.

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