Though musically rooted in the Ould Sod, Gaelic Storm has been able to introduce a wealth of influences into its Celtic sound over the years. Chicken Boxer lets the California-based quintet roam ever wider while retaining a rowdy Irish spirit. Gaelic Storm has always been a people’s band rather than a group for purists. As with any good pub combo, its first job is to raise smiles and get feet a-stomping. The band does it here with “One More Day Above the Roses,” a rollicking, life-affirming barroom anthem with a shout-along chorus. Likewise based in Emerald Isle modes are “The Bear and the Butcher Boy” (a narrative ballad with a whimsical twist), “The Storks of Guadalajara” (a straight-up jig), and “Cinla” (a reinterpretation of a 14th-century Irish lullaby). Stretching out further, the band adds a dash of Caribbean seasoning to “Irish Breakfast Day” and “Stone by Stone” and offers sunny ukulele pop with “My Lucky Day.” From the rattletrap clatter of “Rag and Bone” to the genial folk-rock of “Alligator Arms,” Chicken Boxer’s mix of the traditional and the contemporary packs a mighty wallop.
More By Gaelic Storm
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