The Freebooters – Ordinary Level Oi! CD

The Freebooters play no-nonsense ska-tinged streetpunk with a big fucking smile on its face! This is one infectious album, full of life and energy. It’s clear to hear that these Irish girls and boys have a burning desire to stand up and shout ‘Shut the fuck up! Listen! Dance! Change the fuckin’ world!’, a task they take on and complete with admirable ease.

While they’re not afraid to take a political stance, they manage to do it with a healthy dose of humour, particularly when it comes to their no-nonsense anti-fascist position. Just check out the chorus to ‘Paddy Hitler’ –

Paddy Hitler was a man who just couldn’t understand
Why things never came together in his master plan
Was his head too fat? Or his brain too small?
Either way he knows fuck all

or the amusingly titled ‘Stormfront In A Teacup’ that mercilessly rips the piss out of pasty-faced cyber-nazis. Putting their money where their mouths are, the band and label are also allowing antifa groups to buy a bundle of the CDs at a heavily discounted wholesale price and will throw in a load free aswell so that anti-nazis can raise some much needed cash (get in touch with Distro-y Records for the lowdown).

Other tunes deal with army recruiters targeting the unemployed, bar room pool-playing alkies, cops, priests, all-night partying and an ode to the fans of the finest anti-fascist football team on the planet, FC St Pauli.

Musically, it’s all as solid as a pint of Guinness – snappy basslines, brickwall beats, guitars that’ll get your Granny spinning and reeling on the dancefloor, and rousing choruses just begging for you to sing along with ’em. With the punk knowledge on display here it’s no surprise to learn that members have been part and parcel of the scene for a long time, having been involved with such luminary acts as The Dagda, Pink Turds In Space, Nappyrash, Toxic Waste, The Poke and Bleeding Rectum.

This is a bit of a departure for Distro-y, probably better known for putting out D-beat and crust flavoured outfits, and I take my hat of to Alex for spreading his punk rock wings in this direction. Diversity is one of the things that makes our culture so great, especially when it’s as sterling as this.

For people who also like: The Restarts, Stage Bottles, Runnin’ Riot

OP’s opinion:

Download sample track – St. Pauli (FLAC)
The Freebooters Myspace
Buy from Iron Column Records for £5 plus p&p (all proceeds to my local antifa friends), or Distro-y for €5 plus p&p