The Scratch were formed by members of the Irish metal outfit, Red Enemy. Over the past decade, they’ve developed a sound that is rooted in traditional Irish folk, yet is combined with a metal-infused intensity. In the 10 years since starting out, they’ve gone viral for busking, had their music featured in Netflix’s drama series ‘House of Guinness,’ toured with the likes of Dropkick Murphys, and opened up Download Festival’s Opus stage last year.
They’re now set to release their third album, ‘Pull Like A Dog’. It sees founding members, Daniel “Lango” Lang (cajón, percussion, lead vocals), Conor Dockery (guitar, backing vocals), and Cathal McKenna (bass/backing vocals), joined by incoming guitarist
Gary “Gaz” Regan. As a unit, they stay grounded with a ragged blend of Celtic-charged numbers with the succulence of Irish folk.
The titular track kicks off the record with a rumbling charge led by Lango’s drums, with Dockery and Regan providing blistering guitars. It introduces a ruggedness that remains for the majority of the record. There’s also a sense of humour balanced out by more honest, human moments. For example, ‘Pullin Teeth’ contains lines such as “sometimes they’ll disappear back up their own arse if it’s not too mucky,” yet it’s soon countered by the admittance of playing the part of what is expected of being Irish.
When The Scratch is abrasive, their vulnerable and introspective songwriting can get somewhat lost. On ‘Gladrags,’ underneath the crunching swagger, there is an inattentiveness to Lango’s words of “Your’re not the only cause for spacin out, And i get down about it altogether”. It leans into the vulnerability that appears on ‘Pull Like A Dog’s softer moments. Nonemoreso than on ‘Spacer’. Questioning mortality, it stirs up visions of restlessness, musically peeling itself with gentle guitars, providing an atmospheric moment of reflection.
‘I Hope All is Forgiven’ maintains Lango’s inward tone with a mournful number that is underpinned by a compelling quality. Sandwiched in between the rousing, Guinness-soaked ‘Roses n Poses’ that gallops with intent. It provides a shot of adrenaline before ‘I Hope All is Forgiven’ pulls the back down to earth.
Likewise, the album finale, ‘Ringsend,’ shines sweetly. Lyrically drawing from the Irish poet and politician Oliver St John Gogarty, the song’s origins are a family affair. Regan’s auntie produced a one-person play based on Gogarty’s work, and later asked the guitarist to set one of Gogarty’s poems to music, long before joining The Scratch. The result is a tender closure. Aided by fiddle player Gareth Quinn Redmond and guest vocals by Susan O’Neill, ‘Ringsend’ captures Lango at peace beautifully.
From grief to moments of resilience and inauthenticity, The Scratch show there’s more to their bow than raucous singalongs, although they are not entirely abandoned. It provides a well-balanced mix of sounds and tones. ‘Pull Like A Dog’ is the sound of a band stretching without losing themselves. Looking past the adrenaline surge of its three front-loaded singles, it requires patience yet rewards you through its softer moments.
‘Pull Like A Dog’ by The Scratch is released on March 13th on Music For Nations / Sony Music Ireland.
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