Dropkick Murphys
Going Out in Style
[Three and a half stars]
Born & Bred
“No mercy, no quarter,” bellow the Dropkick Murphys in the raucous opener of their seventh album, a phrase that sums up their philosophy of music (and drinking). The Boston Irish-punk septet never met a shout-along chorus they didn’t want to crash into, with a bagpipe tooting along for an extra shot of poignancy. Going Out in Style, a theme album about a fictional Irish-American named Cornelius Larkin, veers into tears-in-your-pint sentimentality on ballads like ”˜1953.’ But reservations disappear at the sound of full-fathom burner ”˜Peg o’ My Heart,’ a sweet, boozy love song with vocals by another guy who takes no quarter: Bruce Springsteen.
Key Tracks: ”˜Peg o’ My Heart,’ ”˜Memorial Day,’ Hang ”˜Em High’
