Flogging Molly have returned with their fifth studio album, and the first released on their own record label, Thirty Tigers.  Is it a worthy addition to their growing discography of live and studio albums?  Yes.

Ever since I fell in love with Flogging Molly with their first studio album, Swagger, I have approached each album with trepidation.  ”Is this the album where they’ll finally fall apart and I’ll only have good memories to live off of?”  Each album has take two to three listens for me to finally make up my mind, but with Speed of Darkness, I was immediately in love.

The band finally starts to stretch its legs a bit creatively adding in new sounds (piano on ”The Cradle of Humankind”) and finally allowing fiddle player Bridget Regan to sing a duet with her husband, band founder Dave King, on ”A Prayer For Me in Silence.”

This isn’t to say that the entire album is a work of art.  For the first time ever, there may be a song I skip in future listenings entitled “The Heart of the Sea.”  This song sounds like it’s trying to go in too many directions at once, and it can never seem to settle on one.  Considering their body of work, and this is the first time I’ve ever gone, “er … no thanks,” that’s a pretty good batting average.  It may grow on me with time, but for now I suggest leaving it at the bottom of the sea.

One thing that has always been a recurring theme with this band has been the plight of the working man, and this album ratchets that up even a notch further.  It could be because King and Regan now live in Detroit, and in fact, the song “The Power’s Out” is all about the decay that now surrounds them.

There is something that can definitely be said about this album over their previous efforts, and that is that it is possibly their most accessible to the general public.  The sound has been softened slightly, but not to a degree that should anger long standing fans, only enough that I could potentially see new people giving them a try, and that is never a bad ting.

Enjoy their first single, “Don’t Shut ‘Em Down”, and make sure to pick up the album if you get a chance.

Normally a concert coming to someone’s town shouldn’t be that big of a deal, but when your town has a population of only 17,000 locals and 6,000 students, it tends to be a big event.  You would think everyone would be talking about it, but that doesn’t seem to always be the case.

Case in point, I learned that my favorite band, Flogging Molly, is coming to my town last night … 26 hours before the show.

My parents were leaving town on business when my mom called me and said she had seen a sign up that said “Welcome Flogging Molly.”  Knowing they are my favorite band, she called me to ask if I knew what was up.  One quick Google search later I discovered that they were indeed playing at Truman University tonight.  I frantically called to see if there were still tickets, and there were.  Phew.  Crisis avoided.

I have no clue how this more widely known in my town, but for whatever reason, it wasn’t.

Luckily I have seen them two other times.  The first was Oct. 17, 2000 opening for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.  This date is burned in my head because when I left the show that night, I learned that our state governor, Mel Carnahan, had died in a plane crash.  Hard to forget.  I hadn’t heard of them before that show, but I instantly fell in love with them, and even met the lead singer, Dave King shortly after the show and expressed my new undying love for them.  (We discussed Irish heritage too, but mostly my “OH MY GOD!  YOU JUST ROCKED MY FACE!” reaction)

I got to see them again on Oct. 23, 2006 when they were on a headlining tour.  I blogged my reaction to the show, which they again proved why I had fallen in love with them.

Both previous times I have seen them in Columbia, MO at a venue called The Blue Note, which, for all its faults, at least serves Guinness.  Considering they are an Irish band, you feel you should at least be drinking it.  Sadly tonight there will be no alcohol as they are playing on the university campus, but somehow I doubt that will lessen my enthusiasm for seeing them play again.

I barely know the opening band, Big D & The Kids Table, but if anything, Flogging Molly taught me years ago that sometimes the opening band can change your life …

Below is the song “What’s Left of the Flag” from their second studio album, Drunken Lullabies.