Chosen by Monk

The Uber Rock Approved stampWe’re now three months into the current rock ‘n’ roll year, and we continue to receive a veritable tsunami of video clips – almost 120 of them in the past week alone – being sent our way in a bid to be the latest recipient of the coveted title and virtual gong of being named our favourite… not the best, we stress, but our favourite…

Believe me, we do watch all of the submissions, and, apart from those which don’t meet our criteria – i.e., no lyric videos, no straight performance clips and no “playthroughs” – most of them are of an extremely high quality, but there can only ever be one winner… And, to that end, this week’s selection is one that proves that music does indeed transcend all boundaries and that you don’t have to be from a particular part of the world to play a specific style of music… I mean, how many Italian “desert rock” bands have we featured in these very pages?

Despite hailing from the dark forests of Hungary, Paddy And The Rats produce the sort of Celtic folk/punk vibe more associated with the likes of the Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, Horslips or RunRig, mixed with liberal doses of fellow Europeans such as Subway To Sally.

Just in time for this coming week’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations, new single ‘After The Rain’ is one of the more poignant tracks on the band’s forthcoming new album, ‘From Wasteland To Wonderland’ (due out on 29 April via Napalm Records), as it is dedicated to their accordion player Bernie Bellamy (Bernát Babicsek), who sadly passed away at the start of this year.

The accompanying video has a suitably nostalgic, but optimistic, feel to it, echoing the theme that both hope and love shine through adversity, as reflected in the central chorus line of “the sun is never the same after the rain”. It also reflects the personal journeys of the individual, and collective, band members, as they walk the long road of life, and then retrace their steps as, despite having aged 20 years, they re-unite for one last show…

Until next time, keep ‘er lit, keep ‘er between the hedges and keep on rockin’ and rollin’ with your favourite website \m/

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