Roots

THE SICK AND INDIGENT SONG CLUB 

Punch Drunk 

"As always, we have no plan except to keep playing music together and having a damn good time doing it!" So said the Sick and Indigent Song Club when announcing the end of their five-year weekly residency at Dublin's Ha'penny Bridge Inn last month. The six-strong band are true to their promise on this, their third and best album to date. The production is better, as is the band's performance, despite some sluggish tracks. Most of the 14 songs are thoughtful, colourful and spirited examples of a wide range of Americana, with Shane McGrath's The Night the Clock Fell Off the Wall a nod to more European traditions. Singers Angie McLaughlin and Gary Fitzpatrick, who wrote most of the songs, clearly have soaked up many influences, but tunes such as the title track, It All Gets Easier, Hudson Dusters and Poor Minnie have real class. www.myspace.com/sickandindigentsong club