An intense blend of traditional Irish music and metal on this third album.
The Scratch formed in 2016 out of the remnants a metal band called Red Enemy. Their first album came out in 2020 and their second, Mind Yourself, was nominated for the Choice Music Prize, one of the foremost awards for Irish musicians.
There have been a flood of brilliant Irish bands and artists in recent years with a sliding scale of how Irish they sound. You absolutely couldn’t mistake The Scratch as coming from anywhere else.
Opening track, ‘Pull Like A Dog’ is an intense introduction to their style if you weren’t previously familiar. Quick time guitar riffs and drums fire off in intense ways married to slightly more Irish sensibilities. ‘Pullin’ Teeth features Kevin Rheault of legendary band The Dropkick Murphys. The Scratch recently joined them on several of their tracks so Rheault returns the favour here.
There is an intense melting pot of styles that meet throughout this. The Scratch are undoubtedly overall a heavy rock band. They can lean harder into full metal if the want takes them. They can move into more traditional Irish styles that you can imagine being sung along to in a Dublin pub.
Whilst the album front loads the singles there is plenty more to enjoy. This is a band that really understands atmosphere and how to crank up intensity. ‘Roses n Poses’ is a slightly clunking title, but the way it manages to convert an Irish jig into a heavy rock outcome shows some real inventiveness.
There is room for a few quieter songs and quieter moments. ‘Cracks takes’ about three minutes of ethereal beauty before it finally starts to crank up. ‘Spacer’ shows a softer underbelly, though softer in a Smashing Pumpkins kind of way. ‘I Hope All Is Forgiven,’ is a meditative moment following on finding out some one you know has died. It almost crosses into into full Lankum territory. Susan O’Neill (SON) guests on final track Ringsend.
Full of energy and clever touches, The Scratch maintain the strong Irish wave that has been washing over the UK music scene in recent years.
Essential Tracks: ‘Pull Like A Dog,’ ‘Pullin’ Teeth,’ ‘Cracks’ and ‘I Hope All is Forgiven.’
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