The Tom O'Bedlam is comprised of two songwriters from the midwest who met in New Mexico. They recorded an album entitled The Starry Plough which they describe as “lyric driven folk-punk with a social conscience.”
Some of the songs sort of sound like The Dropkick Murphy minus any distortion, drums or bass. There are some songs which just sound like traditional songs. They get going with “Ramblin' After Rain” which sounds like a traditional Irish drinking song. I felt like I wanted to sing along and get drunk. “Tom O’Bedlam” is a little folk inspired song that sounds like it comes straight from the hills of Ireland. The energy returns with “Raise the Starry Plough.” As the album progresses, the energy unfolds across a spectrum of sound and style. You have more folk inspired songs which sound like a soft hymn while other gravitate towards a punk energy. “Midnight Train,” “Blood on the Boulevards” and “St. George in the Warehouse” were the other notable highlights to my ears. I really liked these songs and the spirit in which they were delivered. My only slight issue especially as an engineer is just how lo-fi the recordings were. The guitars were a little thin and recording sounded distant. I think the band is well aware of this as they comment on their bandcamp page but even one close mic and one room mic would have been a big step up. Overall, these are fun and pretty catchy songs which successfully meld aspects of punk and folk. The next time I’m in New Mexico I’ll make sure to see where these guys are playing live.
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