Feature: Brophy’s Law – “The Bachelor”

Released yesterday (Friday 19 February), the latest single by Irish/British/Danish folk-punk group Brophy’s Law, ”The Bachelor” is considered by the band to be their all-time favourite track to perform live.

A group described as being The Pogues meeting The Clash, it is a description which definitely has some accuracy to it. However, this comparison is not presented in the way you might think.

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Melding the folk-punk/Celtic aesthetic found on The Pogues’ most successful releases with the attitude found on The Clash’s material of the early 1980s, especially on their 1982 album Combat Rock, “The Bachelor” is a curiously intriguing, albeit catchy listen.

At first, the British accent of Neil Brophy can initially be a throw off, especially if you are used to an Irish brogue being at the forefront of your trad songs. Even Brophy’s tone and delivery are strikingly similar to that of The Clash frontman Mick Jones, to the point that some less keen listeners could possibly mistake it for being a Mick Jones’ solo track.

However, to the track’s benefit, everything does gel together nicely to sound like something which you might hear at an Irish pub in the UK, especially as the lyrics of “The Bachelor” paint a picture of a working class man who lives for a pint, avoiding marriage and drinking himself under the table, inspired by the drinking holes of London.

“The Bachelor” also utilises structure within the track nicely, particularly during the quieter third verse, which allows for the music to breathe before the fast-paced closing moments, which is not a common feature of music influenced by the traditional Celtic style.

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Released as St. Patrick’s Day looms around the corner, “The Bachelor” would certainly be a fitting song to play as part of the celebrations.

“The Bachelor” release follows Brophy’s Law’s 2019 album, True Stories, which featured the track “Record Collector”.