Flogging Molly, who recently announced the impending release of their first new album in five years, Anthem (Sept. 9, Rise Records), have previewed a new track from the 11-song collection, releasing “This Road of Mine” (https://youtu.be/vqWWq2j-qoo) this morning.
A nod to the band’s, and particularly singer/guitar player Dave King’s, unique history, “This Road of Mine” is, as King says, about taking your own path: “we’ve always done things the way we want to do it.” Plucked from obscurity, and the hopelessness of Dublin’s Tenement Row, King was hand-picked by Motörhead’s “Fast” Eddie Clarke in 1983 for Clarke’s new band, Fastway. King has often shared the ups and downs he experienced in the years that followed. With Fastway imploding in the wake of grunge, King was free to create his own vision, but along the way he spent days scrubbing toilets and painting houses as he performed nearly nightly at the Los Angeles club, and Flogging Molly’s namesake, Molly Malone’s. Now, 25 years later, the band’s unique concoction of traditional Irish music and modern punk rock, has seen them perform with The Rolling Stones, featured on several stints of the Warped Tour, birth the annual, and always sold out, Salty Dog Cruise, and host their yearly, Los Angeles-based St. Patrick’s Day Festival.
King further explains the sentiment behind “This Road of Mine”: “At the time I was writing these lyrics I was wondering if we were going to be able to continue to tour and make music again. Whether you’re a plumber or a carpenter or a musician, we all had the rug pulled out from underneath us and there are certainly elements of that on the album. I’m not one to shy away from a situation in the sense of writing about it; I think that’s what songwriters should do, they should reflect the times.”
The album reunites Flogging Molly with Steve Albini, who also worked with the septet on their beloved early aughts albums Swagger and Drunken Lullabies. “This Road of Mine” is the third preview from Anthem, with the band previously releasing “The Croppy Boy ’98,” and its accompanying live video (https://youtu.be/j3WBSfXOHQo) and the instant classic, “These Times Have Got Me Drinking/Tripping Up The Stairs” (https://riserecords.lnk.to/TTHGMD)
Flogging Molly and The Interrupters resume their U.S. co-headlining trek on Sept. 9, with the bands joined by openers Tiger Army and The Skints. Tickets are available via Floggingmolly.com.
U.S. co-headlining tour with The Interrupters:
September 9 Denver, CO Mission Ballroom Outdoors
September 10 Dillon, CO Dillon Amphitheater
September 11 Salt Lake City, UT Complex Outdoors – The Lot
September 13 Bonner, MT KettleHouse Amphitheater
September 14 Boise, ID Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
September 16 Eugene, OR Cuthbert Amphitheater
September 17 Seattle, WA WaMu Theater
September 21 Paso Robles, CA Vina Robles Amphitheatre
September 23 Chula Vista, CA North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
September 24 Irvine, CA FivePoint Amphitheatre
September 25 Las Vegas, NV Beach Stage at Mandalay Bay Resort
European tour:
July 27 Munich, Germany Tonhalle
July 29 Gijon, Spain Tsunami Festival
July 30 Barcelona, Spain Barna’n’Roll Festival
July 31 Cap Decouverte, France Xtreme Festival 2022
August 2 Zurich, Switzerland Komplex 457
August 3 Tilburg, 013
August 5 Berlin, Germany Open Airs 2022
August 6 Berlin, Germany Open Airs 2022
August 8 Lokeren, Belgium Lokerse Feesten
August 10 Tolmin, Slovenia Punk Rock Holiday
August 11 Rimini, Italy Bayfest Festival
August 12 Rothenburg, Germany Taubertal Festival
August 13 Puttlingen, Germany Rocco del Schlacko
August 14 Eschwege, Germany Open Flair Festival
August 16 Manchester, England O2 Ritz Manchester
August 17 Birmingham, England O2 Institute Birmingham
August 18 London, England O2 Forum Kentish Town
August 19 Tiverton, England Beautiful Days Festival
August 20 Dublin, Ireland Vicar Street
