The title of pop-punkers The Dead Flags’ debut album says more about the mindset of the Sligo-based trio than you might think. It’s full of songs about girls and sex and wanting to have sex with girls. Just in case you couldn’t figure that out the clue is in a couple of the song titles. ‘Girls’ and ‘Woman!’ are pretty self-explanatory. Not that there’s anything wrong with songs about lady folk – write about what you know or wish you knew and all that.

Our lady-loving threesome are storytellers. No random, abstract lyrics here but clear-cut tales of love and lust. And they try so very hard to be clever and witty with their odes. Sometimes it works. ‘Let’s Start a Fire Tonight’ might just be one of the best Irish pop songs of the year. Ridiculously catchy, it takes the clichéd romantic notion of ‘starting a fire’ and turns it on its head. All handclaps and falsetto harmonies, it’s an engaging, crafty little number.

Distorted vocals and dancey, ‘I Can’t Be Held Responsible’, is another gem. In this song, as in much of the album, there is a sense that The Dead Flags want to shock and surprise with their twists in the tale. Something unexpected and clever. Occasionally it is unexpected but not always as clever as intended. Certainly the teenage innuendo of ‘Oh My Love! Oh My God!’ grates a little even if the song itself seems charming on the surface.

Elsewhere there are pleasant offerings, which have all the components of skilled musicianship but lack spice, such as ‘Anymore’. Put simply, it’s fine but you want something more, something as intriguing as what ‘Let’s Start A Fire Tonight’ promised you.

But there’s definitely potential here. Fun and spirited, there’s a great feeling of energy amongst this collection of toe-tapping tracks and the odd obligatory ballad (‘How Long?’) even if there is an uneasy feeling that this is one for the boys. Which makes us feels like a uptight party pooper and we’re not. Honestly. Louise McHenry

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KEY TRACKS: LET’S START A FIRE TONIGHT, ‘I CAN’T BE HELD RESPONSIBLE’.
FOR FANS OF: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS, PIXIES, UN-PC POP PUNK.