Flogging Molly - Within A Mile of Home

One thing about Flogging Molly that probably gets their name out the most--their music is steeped in Irish folk influence. Ireland equals beer, as far as most people understand. And beer, a favorite passtime of college students, leads to many a Flogging Molly t-shirt on campus. You'd think that the Pogues would have the same effect, or maybe they did twenty years ago, but maybe it's all in the fact that Flogging Molly are Warped Tour all-stars, rivaling the Dropkick Murphys in the modern day punk scene for the best drinking songs. Within a Mile of Home is their third album, following up 2002's Drunken Lullabies; you may be familiar with that title track if you were one of many who spent hours on end playing the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater videogame. The only way I can think of describing Flogging Molly is by calling them "a more rocking, less alcohol-fueled version of the Pogues, but based in Los Angeles." And while I'd much rather prefer to listen to the band actually from Ireland, it's nice to see a group of musicians delivering Irish folk to a younger audience, though I can definitely see underage consumption rates rising with Flogging Molly's popularity. It's no Run, Sodomy, & the Lash, but Within a Mile of Home excels in making for a good time, providing an energetic, rowdy, swaggering soundscape, replete with foot-stomping, banjos, fiddles, and accordians and most of all, fun. [www.floggingmolly.com]