Nasty Fishmonger - Band of Common Folk 
Release Date: Out Now
Bristol's Nasty Fishmonger managed to crack my code that if you include the word 'Monger' in your band name or a song title then I HAVE to review it, the tinkers. Luckily, their debut album 'Band of Common Folk' is a lot of fun and we get underway with '57000' which features a furiously strummed acoustic riff, sprinkled piano notes and then, well, the thumping beat that will have pirates reporting for duty as the penny whistle soundtracks their walk to the harbour. Up next is 'DNR' which features Bobbi QELD and takes the energy up a notch with a stack of amps hidden behind a pile of cannonballs. 'Kill The Bill' keeps the tempo up and the furious penny whistle playing will go down well with fans of JollyRoger or Mad Dog McRae.
There's a lament to 'Out to Sea' which has the most traditional sea shanty feel thus far before 'Jailbreaker' starts to bring the energy up again with more than a hint of Gogol Bordello and the Cabarets to proceedings. Dan Booth guests on 'Tallulah' which sounds like a folky rendition of Queen's 'Fat Bottom Girls' while 'Unknown Sailor' tells a tale set to that brilliantly energetic acoustic strum once again. Welsh folk song 'Dacw Nghariad' sounds like something from another realm with more than a little impish quality to it but penultimate track 'Common Folk' takes the folk genre to a world where rock'n'roll is there to cross-breed and create folk-rock children. The album closes off with 'Wheel Of Time', a brave foray in to the world of prog-folk, and off they go in to the night jigging, reeling and telling their cautionary tales to anyone who will listen. Watch out for those Nasty Fishmongers, they'll have you dancing before you know it and they might even have away with your mead.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/NastyFishmonger
Live Dates:
9th April - The Chameleon, Nottingham
14th April - The Palladium, Bideford
15th April - The Fighting Cocks, Kingston
3rd August - OutCider Festival, Somerset
4th August - Gig In A Field 5, Doncaster
2nd-3rd September - 3 Years of Firejam @ The Loco Klub, Bristol