The logical follow-up to 2005's
My Pappy Was a Pistol (put together, the album titles form a legendary old country song),
I'm a Son of a Gun continues and expands the
Filthy Thievin' Bastards' career-long impersonation of the early
Pogues. A side project of the
Swingin' Utters' Johnny Bonnel and
Darius Koski that previously existed mostly to showcase Bonnel's shockingly accurate mimicry of
Shane MacGowan's vocals (best shown off on the opening "Filthy Drunken Poet"),
I'm a Son of a Gun branches out a bit to include elements of other folk and country styles, like the
Bob Wills homage "Oh Sweet Misery" and the
Nick Cave-like dirge "Down Every Day."
I'm a Son of a Gun isn't meant to be taken seriously in the least -- as if song titles like "Dumb Dead Goats" weren't enough of a clue -- but the surprise is how tuneful, memorable and fun these songs are even at their most obviously parodic. This is a genuinely great bit of lighthearted folk-punk, well worth a listen even for those with little use for
the Pogues. ~ Stewart Mason