St Patrick's day (week) has come around again. UPFront's Tom Pinder previews Irish music on the way to Brussels.

Every time St Patrick's Day comes around, huge numbers of Irish Americans seem to come out of the woodwork to join in the celebrations, their Emerald Isle ancestry becoming more and more direct with every pint of Guinness they sink.

This part-time embracing of a possibly imagined heritage must be great news for those American bands peddling versions of Irish music, safe in the knowledge that at least once each year, demand for their services goes through the roof. The daily grind of recording albums and playing to a more discerning audience must pale in comparison.

Two of the United States of Irish America's top musical ambassadors are Brussels-bound, where apart from the inevitable vocal core of expats, they will be faced with a crowd to whom ancestry does not matter one jot. In these unfamiliar, hostile waters, they will have to let their music do the talking. Luckily for Flogging Molly and the Dropkick Murphys, this has never been a problem.

Boston legends Dropkick Murphys are touring in support of their sixth studio album The Meanest of Times. Never shy of proclaiming their influences, the Murphys are proudly Bostonian, proudly working class, and of course, proudly Irish. Throughout their twelve-year history, they have sung of workers rights, loyalty to friends and family and more recently have developed something of a social conscience.

'Walk Away' from the Blackout album is a challenge to absent fathers; new song 'The State of Massachusetts' tells of children being taken from irresponsible parents and put into care. Musically, the Murphys incorporate Irish sounds into their street punk tunes at every opportunity, with mandolin, accordion, tin whistle, and even bagpipes featuring. The Celtic instruments allow for a drop of pace during their hectic live shows, but are also readily incorporated into the melee.

The mix of folk tradition and punk rock attitude is at its best when the Murphys turn their hand to Irish songs, usually played at breakneck speed. 'Fields of Athenry', 'Finnegan's Wake', 'The Wild Rover' and 'The Rocky Road to Dublin' all work their way into their repertoire.

Floggin' It

In singer and guitarist Dave King, Flogging Molly have an obvious advantage: King is actually Irish. Born and raised in Dublin, King emigrated to the US, eventually ending up playing traditional music in a Los Angeles Irish pub. With a cleaner, more Pogues-influenced sound than the Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly nevertheless retain a certain punk rock intensity. With accordion and fiddle taking a lead role, the band's high tempo Irish sound is both upbeat and energetic.

Songs like 'Selfish Man' and 'What's Left of the Flag' are so fast and catchy that even if you can resist the urge to dance, just hearing them can leave you breathless. It's not all so carefree, however. King's voice is also well-suited to laments, and numbers like 'Whistles the Wind' and 'The Sun Never Shines (On Closed Doors)' guarantee a more sombre mood. Not for long of course.

Over the years Flogging Molly have evolved towards a more straightforward rock sound, albeit still with the heavy influence of folk instrumentation. Their fourth album, Float, has just been released and looks like it could make the band even more popular. For one thing, it was recorded in Ireland, which will make it a sure-fire hit with the St Patrick's Day legions stateside.

Dropkick Murphys play Ancienne Belgique on 7 April
Flogging Molly play the same venue on 28 May

Tom Pinder
UPFront in Belgium

For comprehensive information on Belgium bars for St Patrick's or any other day, go to UPFront