Dropkick Murphys - Signed and Sealed in Blood

Released January 8, 2013

Signed and Sealed in Blood starts off their record with their familiar Celtic singing and bagpipe playing with "The Boys Are Back". Then, their punk rock comes in. Something about the singer's voice is off, however. It sounds exhausted, I know the point in this type of music isn't supposed to be clarity, and the singer isn't supposed to be Mariah Carey, but it doesn't even sound like he's trying here. Also, clearly the song is meant to have energy, but it just doesn't live up to what they're known for. The music is all spot-on, being talented musicians and all. The song was repetitive and a tad boring, to say it bluntly.

The second song, "Prisoner's Song" has that real extraordinary drunken "pub" feel, with a constant beat. The singer's voice works better here, having that tired voice really benefits the picture the video in your head. The accordion works beautifully here and the whole song is really tightly put together. Great song!

Next track is "Rose Tattoo," the first single off of the album. The song seems to be telling a story. It sounds like a sailor bringing you close and shouting his past into your ear. And you're fascinated by his story. The singer literally lists his tattoos to you, and that's it. And yet the song is so intriguing. The backup vocals really work well here. Another great song. With a marching drum beat and the singer actually sounding like he cares about the lyrics he's singing. And what a bridge! Really wants to make you do the jig on a boat! Nothing else has ever made me want to do that before!

"Rose Tattoo" is followed by "Burn," a song where you feel the energy from everyone! The instruments and the singer electrify you. I don't know what much more to say about this song, but it is definitely the most energetic off of the whole album and is done pretty much perfectly.

"Jimmy Collins' Wake" is a song about a baseball pitcher. This song is a little bit boring. It feels like it's missing an instrument or something. If there's not, then they just made a poor decision placing this song after "Burn"

"The Season's Upon Us" is the next track, and is the second single from the album. A little bit late for Christmas, but you know what? I love Christmas! The song really puts you in a great mood, even though the song is describing the singer's shitty family events. You just have to laugh at it and say, "well at least my family's not like his!" And not only that, the song is extremely well put together. It sounds like it could be a brand new familiar Christmas tune. Although the man says that the song is not meant to be cheesy and that it really is about a dysfunctional family (made up or not), one can't but help feeling like it's a cute song that makes you feel good.

Track 7 is "The Battle Rages On." The song sounds like a great song to shout along to while going into war, which I think may have been the point? The problem is that all of the instruments really collide and you can't distinguish one from the other. You can hear the vocals loud and clear, but everything else just becomes a series of crashes.

The next track is "Don't Tear Us Apart." It starts off with a piano riff, which is then echoed by all of the instruments. I try to imagine a place where I would listen to these songs in my head, as you may have noticed. Here, I imagine laying down on a bed, bouncing my foot to the beat, mouthing the lyrics, and reading a magazine. This song is awesome, you just really get the beat stuck in you, and you want to just sing along to the chorus. "Don't tear us apart!! OOOOHHHH!!"

"My Hero" is another one of those songs where you don't really get the energy that you should be getting. Not that it's a necessarily bad song. The repeating lead guitar part is weak, yet they keep repeating it. Other than that, it's just shouting and it really doesn't sound like much more than static.

"Out on the Town" is next. It succeeds in giving you that "walking in the city" feel. You really feel like you're there, going out on the town. You feel like strutting along and going anywhere. The melody is catchy and playful, even with the singer's slightly garbled voice. Nice guitar here, nice drums, nice everything.

"Out of Our Head" is a song that fits the formula of the past songs. The drums here are a bit off, but that's about it. The song is pretty good. It sounds like a cop-out answer, but with this kind of music, there gets to be a kind of redundancy. I'm not expecting them to make a Rush song, but something a little different would be appreciated.

The last song on the album is "End of the Night," and it starts off like its a credit roll to a movie. The song makes you miss listening to the album. All of the instruments are controlled, they mix well together, the lyrics are great, the whole song is awesome. There is a clear tone to the piece, and you feel it inside of you. It sound like a closer, that's what makes it great as a last song! It's beautiful and I don't know what else to say about it.

The album succeeds in bringing something fresh to the punk scene, as they do all the time. The main problem is the stigmata that punk seems to have in general, with some exceptions: it gets repetitive. By the sixth song or so, you feel like you've heard every possible combination that they could come up with. It's not true, but it can certainly feel that way. But clearly, they are talented musicians, the lyrics and music put you in the mood that they want to, et cetera. One thing's for sure, they should perform on a boat.


RATING - 7.3/10