Rating: 8.8/10
Release: 8 March 2019
Label: Independent

The Greenland Whalefishers have a long history of great music. Hailing from Norway they have been carrying the torch lit by the Pogues for decades. This new disc, ”Based on a True Story”, continues with some ventures into other territory. The britpunk feel is fully intact with the whistle cruising along in every track adding depth and feel. The raspy vocals are perfect, (man he sounds like Shane Macgowan). The sound mix is crisp and all the texture of the music comes through well.
First single “K Says” is a nice slice of Celtic-Ska It has a great vibe and really mixes the feel of a traditional Irish type song with the strange beats of Ska. Weird and really cool at the same time Ase Britt Reme Jacobsen turns in a great performance on the track “Darkness”. On “Halloween”, Arvid sings incredibly fast and the whole band moves the tune at warp speed. For folk music this is really fast and fun.” Bad Match” is a favorite of mine. It has a cool punk feel and a couple great breaks where the whistle really shines. The song “Ticket” is another highlight with its bouncy feel and cool lyrics. Album closer “Riverside” has a country vibe and really ties up all the strengths of the band.
“Based on a True Story” is a great disc for the band at about forty minutes and 11 tracks its not overly long but what it lacks in length is made up in quality. The band sounds excellent and primed to take on the world. For a band that is in its twenty fifth year they sound like the next twenty five will be even better. All in all its a great March so far with this marking my second excellent Celt-punk album of 2019.

Tracklist

1. Over
2. The Party
3. K Says
4. Darkness
5. Friend-Enemy
6. Joe’s town
7. Halloween
8. Bad Match
9. Together
10. Ticket
11. Riverside