Ye Banished Privateers – First Night Back In Port

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I’ve been doing tons of reviews this year but this one was far the hardest. YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS is a folk/pirate band from Umeå, Sweden, inspired by Irish folk music, shanties and general traditional Scandinavian ballads. The band plays its own interpretation of pirate music from the 17^th century, a mixture of folk and punk, and their central theme is the pirate life at sea, living on the other side of the law – and the fight against oppression and nationalism. Their debut album, “Songs and Curses” was released on 19^th of September 2011 – right in time for the International Talk Like a Pirate day, their second one, “The Legend of Libertalia” in September 2015 and their 3^rd installment “First Night Back in Port” is dropping via Napalm Records on the 30^th of June this year.

I had a really tough time listening to the album from start to end in one go, I kept having “Annabel” on repeat for the first couple of days, so all in all, I managed to give the entire release a listen from start to finish in a whooping 1 week and 3 days. Thank you, thank you! The mix of rude folk and punk music invites you to dance and sing along, while the gripping ballads will make the toughest pirate’s heart soft. The story of Annabel is a sad one, jailed for all her sins, her vices made her lose her farm, landed on a cotton plantation and ending in a greave in Georgia. A catchy ballad, with soft acoustics and even catchier choruses is a great way of setting the scene for “A Night at the Schwarzer Kater”. This night can perfectly be described as your drunken uncle having another sip of poison and wanting to tell you a story yet he stumbles in his words. A song about being hangover, ‘reminiscent from the deepest abyss’ and it sounds like someone had a great time. The title-song, “First Night Back in Port” is predominant by a fast paced banjo, the two voices – male and female – compliment each other very well, one a bit rugged and one soft and comforting. With multiple vocalists, violins, banjos and piano-accordions littering every song, it is hard to get bored, the catchy vibe resides in all of the songs, as well as the typical folk sing-a-long feel.

“Cooper’s Rum” has a rhythm that projects you immediately in a singing tavern where you most likely will see Jack Sparrow hitting on the bar-lady. Atmospherically, YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS takes the sound of a smoky harbor – with the appropriate noise, the sound of a stinky tavern, and the terrifying sound of the sea and puts everything in a puddle of authenticity.  “Mermaid’s Kiss” is their last track that enchants the listeners for one last time with the languishing violin sounds, carrying flute melodies and a discreet whispering siren. YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS is my last obsession and for any ALESTORM fan out there that is looking for a break from pillaging and plundering, or any folk enthusiast or pirate fanatic, give these guys a go, you will thank me later.

Originality: 10
Memorability: 10
Songwriting: 10
Production: 10