Celtic-flavored rock from Toronto

This Toronto quintet has been kicking around for nearly ten years, releasing CDs and touring clubs and festivals with their Celtic-flavored rock. There are tin whistles and bagpipes here, but they’re threaded into guitar-bass-and-drums that rock in 4/4 time as well as spicing up hearty jigs and reels. Purists may puzzle over the band’s eclectic influences, but their anthems and love ballads fit easily into the current streams of rock, pop and country. The combination of fiddle, electric leads and power chords on “The Death of Johnny Manning,” for example, isn’t far from what Nashville’s producing these days. Other tunes will remind you of more riotous fellow travelers such as the Pogues and Dropkick Murphys, and old-timers will hear echoes of 1970s Irish rockers Horslips.

The band writes about their travels, memories and interior philosophical monologues, but they’re most regularly inspired by their homeland. They profile farmers battling invasive oil companies, ruddy coastal fishermen, and northern musical pioneers, representing a stalwart side of the Canadian character typically lost in pop culture shorthand. The band’s live performances have honed a group sound that transcends their individual performances. There’s a pair of instrumentals that drives this home, but even the vocal tracks stretch out far enough to show the group’s musical wares. Enter the Haggis treads a middle ground between Celtic tradition and punk-excess, combining the flavors of the former with the rock ‘n’ roll energy of the latter. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

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