The Wolfe Tones'
Sing Out for Ireland is one of their more ironic album titles; those looking for a cheerful set of drinking songs would be most unhappy with this unsparing but ultimately uplifting collection of political material, historical ballads, and ruefully humorous tunes like "Janey Mac, I'm Nearly 40," the serio-comic lament of a former wild boy staring middle age in the bathroom mirror. Even the deceptively upbeat "St. Patrick Day" has a puckish, dry wit in the way it deflates traditional Irish stereotypes, and songs like the drop-dead sarcastic "The Impartial Police Force" and the dead serious "The Guilford Four" are among the Wolfe Tones' most pointedly political material.
Sing Out for Ireland may not be for the faint of heart politically, but musically, it's sublime acoustic Irish folk even a Unionist could love. ~ Stewart Mason