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As they're so often identified with Good Will Hunting-esque Boston, it isn't much of a surprise when Dropkick Murphy's vocalist Al Barr takes our call on his cell phone while driving back from the Red Sox World Series victory parade. As he and his fellow Murphys had been performing from one of the floats, but he informs us that they were not among the 30 or so folks arrested.
"There's always someone who starts drinking too early and there's so many cops around who look like they're just looking for someone to bust," Barr says. "It really is a fever pitch up here, to quote the movie. There's thousands of people on the streets and everyone's got a smile on their face."
The Murphys have always had a reputation, deservedly or not, for raucousness, as well as for writing about people and places close to home. Barr's scratchy voice befits the type of working-class guy who's front-and-center when the plan is to meet at the pub at 7 a.m. to kick off the bachelor party.
The band's sixth album, The Meanest of Times, reinforces that approach both thematically and musically, opening with the sampling of a school bell and the sound of children about to burst forth. The Hardcore/Celtic mix is still omnipresent, with standard-issue Murphys slugfests co-existing with re-workings of traditional Irish tunes.
"The album is about growing up," Barr says.
"And all the things that shape you. That is the meanest of times in a lot of ways. It's about redemption, the process of life."
The Murphys write a great deal about tragedy, but they seldom slow the tempo. Whether singing about the Great Irish Famine of the 19th century ("The Fields of Athenry"), a close friend who died in a motorcycle accident ("Your Spirit's Alive") or an American serviceman and Murphys fan who was killed in Iraq ("Last Letter Home"), the music itself remains appropriate for high-energy fist-pumping. It seems fair to wonder whether the casual listener might miss the themes.
"That's why we print the lyrics on the booklets," Barr says. "A lot of people thought 'Barroom Hero' glorified drinking, but it was actually about the negative consequences of that. But we've never dictated how people should listen to us. People listen to music for different reasons and for some it's just in one ear and out the other. Basically, if you know how to read, you can figure out for yourself what the song is really about."
These days, the Murphys are enjoying a wider, more diverse fan base, thanks partially to their song "I'm Shipping Up To Boston," which appeared in the movie The Departed.
"For us, to be in an Academy Award-winning film like that, it meant that a lot of people who didn't know who we were now do," Barr says. "And those that did know us and thought we were pigeon-holed to a bunch of guys who just come out on St. Patrick's Day and drink a lot of green beer and do a jig now might know that (our music) can be universal."
Another change in preparation for the album was the formation of Born and Bred after a decade on Hellcat Records.
"It's just an extension — we've always had a DIY ethic," Barr says. "We had no particular gripe with Hellcat. It's not like they were a shitty label or anything. ... There's always going to be some (issues) if you're on a label for 10 years and anyone who says there isn't is lying. We just wanted to change the story, to see what we could do."
DROPKICK MURPHYS play Bogarts Tuesday. Buy tickets, check out performance times and find nearby bars and restaurants here.
