How many albums are too many albums? It’s a question that, in fairness, does not plague too many artists. Dropkick, on the other hand, have faced it with defiant aplomb.
A whopping eleven albums since 2001, not including the two EPs, this Edinburgh foursome are workaholics. If the end product was not so universally enjoyed by critics and fans alike, there would perhaps be cause for an intervention.
The new album, Paper Trails arrives on the back of 2011’s Time Cuts The Ties. Not stopping for breath, Dropkick attack their music making with a verve and determined vigour that is sometimes lacking across the industry as a whole. The result is an upbeat, harmony driven pop rock album that brings a warm smile to the face of listeners.
In an altogether post modern, everything is depressing and maudlin musical world, it is a breath of refreshing air to listen to an album like Paper Trails. The harmonic vocals of brothers Andrew and Alastair Taylor, joined by bassist Ian Grier, give an optimistic view of their sanguine lyrics.
Evoking images of an alternate reality where Scotland had a summer instead of an eternal grey misery, the band shine on opener ‘Words Best Left’ and ‘Another Day’. At fourteen tracks long there is a broad spectrum for listeners to enjoy. Indeed, the length of this album in itself is a testimony to the sheer work ethic and seemingly limitless depths of talent from which the band draw from.
By their own admission, Paper Trails offers Dropkick’s most varied and accomplished collection of songs in their eleven year career. From the eternally joyful ‘Annabel’ and ‘Ponytail’ to the sonically distorted, artistically hued ‘It Could Be Our Way’, a brooding, menacing number that serves as the album’s darkest moment. Paper Trails is a testimony to a band’s tireless efforts to their work.
Where some groups would struggle to produce a catalogue as strong and purposeful across a decade, Dropkick thrive on such a challenge. Their enduring dedication to touring, live gigging and recording is an accolade the Edinburghers have over most of their contemporaries.