Now this is something that I am down for. The Town Pants have created their own division of Celtic that lends itself to an audience somewhere in between the heavy drinkers and the soft rockers. Shore Leave is an album of 10 bumping songs that lay the drums on thick, throwing in some banjo, fiddle, tin whistle, bass and guitar. Their energy soars even in slow tunes like Angel and skyrockets in upbeat tracks like Drinking In The Graveyard. Each track is inventive, the percussion and other varying musical instruments fit perfectly together, stylishly and with a great rhythm. Perhaps the originality falters in their lyrics, with most songs encompassing alcohol in some way or another. Other than a clear preference for drinking songs (not always a bad thing), the album spills over with character.

Published in Volume 65, Number 18 of The Uniter (February 3, 2011)