Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Happy Ol` McWeasel
Label: Self-released
Release: 2015
Runtime: 41:34
Rating: 4.5/5
After three years, Slovenia’s own Celtic punk-rock assault troops Happy Ol’ McWeasel are back on the scene with a new album. The new album »Heard Ya Say!« cements their position on home turf, where there really aren’t many similar bands, if any. Judging by the leap upward in maturity and artistry that the new album shows, we can say Happy Ol’ McWeasel are grabbing the genre’s leading scepter in Slovenia.
Emboldened by some lovely, well-deserved breakthrough successes – like conquering the Japanese market, where their debut »No Offence« (2012) sold out completely within a year of release, or getting Danny Boy into the soundtrack of the American TV sitcom »The Crazy Ones« (starring Robin Williams, Sarah Michelle Gellar and James Wolk) – the guys gathered enough ideas in a relatively short time to create 12 new bouncy tunes, which they wove into a new, solid-standing musical macramé.
»Heard Ya Say!« has even sharper definition in its arrangements, and above all a much bigger dose of decisiveness, or call it confidence, both in the delivery and in trying out the ideas themselves. The guys have a feel for musicality, which they cross effectively with punk’s punch and directness. Given how firmly the genre is staked out – loud and clear – in the Celtic (folk) punk rock scene, it’s hard to imagine wild flights into experimental challenges. So we can’t, and shouldn’t, demand a new musical revolution from »Heard Ya Say!« or the unveiling of still-unseen musical horizons and provocative artistic dimensions. »Heard Ya Say!« is first and foremost a simple, relaxing album stuffed with good karma, with no shortage of a healthy mix of socially critical engagement, calls to party and switch off your brain, and also the realization that true camaraderie and brotherhood, which you’re a part of, is a priceless, worth-its-weight-in-gold companion on the road through life’s thorny pitfalls.
The vocals are piercing, direct and decisive, like the voice of the street, occasionally deliberately cutting (especially in the album’s rougher moments, like the closer World To See), but also soft when the verses need more subtle emotion (Can’t Wait, Left Behind). The vocal is “sunk” into a shackle of charging, compact rhythms that make the listener jump, with a wall of riffs joining in behind it – simple three-to-four-chord accompaniment lines, mostly built on major keys, though that’s not always the rule (On Your Own). The guitar backdrop is enriched and livened up by arrangements of accordion, banjo and viola. There are moments where the folk component is more noticeable, and moments where it “ducks away”, and that’s when Happy Ol McWeasel show more of their punk edge. The guys have polished the arrangements and stepped them up from the debut, and everything on »Heard Ya Say!« is 100% where it should be. The delivery of the English lyrics also comes across as confident and convincing. No slip-ups. That’s why the album is fully competitive with similar releases on the international scene! It gives the band new chances for a commercial breakthrough on international stages! That’s for sure.
Sonically, the album feels alive and dynamic, breathing with full lungs, and as such it radiates the band’s incredible drive and commitment to delivering the best they know and can, for themselves and for the crowd. It’s exactly in this tightness, generated by the band’s big-hearted approach to music, that you catch the great chemistry among the members, driven and held together by a huge sense of camaraderie.
Even though what we have here is a concise, relaxing record whose puzzle is trivially solved by the associative cortex, Happy Ol’ McWeasel dug deep into every last detail on it. That’s why they sent the finished product off for mastering again this time to the renowned Finnish sound guru and master Mika Jussila, which only underlines the great dedication they bring to their work. »Heard Ya Say!« is a record that will surely open a whole series of doors for the band, leading to bigger international recognition, and let’s hope commercial success grows along with it!
Line-up
Gregor Jančič – vocals
Primož Zajšek – accordion
Tine Trapečar – banjo, acoustic guitar
Aleš Pišotek – electric guitar
Martin Bezjak – viola
Matej Kosmačin – bass guitar, backing vocals
Aleš Voglar – drums, percussion
Production
Bezjak & Happy Ol’ McWeasel
Tracklist
01. Heard Ya Say!
02. Good Deeds
03. Away
04. On Your Own
05. Badger and the Coon
06. Join the Crew (Anthem)
07. Not True
08. Can‘t Wait
09. Blow
10. Left Behind
11. Running Through
12. World to See
