The Briggs - Come All You Madmen [CD]

Side One Dummy

July 14, 2008, 11:25 AM

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Well, those of us familiar with The Briggs will know that they’re not the most original band in the world, a friend of mine once made the observation that it was like listening to a covers band trying to write original stuff. It’s true, they do mercilessly rip off the likes of Flogging Molly and (in particular) The Dropkick Murphy’s and that has always proved a problem for most people including myself. It’s a bit like going to see Def Leppard when Led Zeppelin are playing next door, if you’ll excuse the poor comparison. On their fourth studio album ‘Come All You Madmen’ however, The Briggs seem to have finally turned this trick to their own advantage.

The music this band produce has always had an Irish tinge to it, this is what makes for the obvious comparisons but it also makes for some pretty anthemic choruses and a big, full sound. Previous efforts by The Briggs have all had the same kind of feel to them but here it sounds like they’ve stopped trying to rival Against Me! and just settled back to being an almost folky punk band. The pounding, in your face chorus of ‘L.A.’ is as catchy as it is stock, nothing new yet nothing wrong and ultimately quite fun. Other songs that feature early on like ‘Bloody Minds’ and ‘Charge Into The Sun’ follow a similar structure, again nothing really original but again nothing bad, it’s just pretty impossible to take this band 100% seriously on the back of such blatant ripping.

About two-thirds into ‘Come All You Madmen’ you start to get the feeling that things are getting a little try hard. Songs like ‘Final Words’ in particular sounds like a complete genre clash with more of a wannabe Alkaline Trio feel to it than anything else, it’s at this point I realise that If I was a musically under-educated 12 year old again then I’d probably love this album as much as ‘Dookie’ by Green Day. In support of this theory of mine I then decided to play it to my 13 year old brother who’s currently making the transition from listening to metal to punk and sure enough, he loved it! As I’m such a nice older brother I let him have my copy and since then I’ve heard him singing along to every harmony ripe chorus through my bedroom wall like they were anthems of his generation.

I guess all I can say is that if you don’t necessarily require your music to be the most original thing in the world then this album might be for you. For the more seasoned listener it is a little clichéd but difficult to dislike, I don’t care how much of a scene kid you are, if you were in a club and ‘L.A.’ came on then you would be dancing to it. If your still not convinced then you can always buy it for your little brother for Christmas, he’ll love it.

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