Dave Hughes & The Renegade Folk Punk Band –“Doctors And Dates”

Dave Hughes & the Renegade Folk Punk band are actually a Scottish punk trio and it’s fair to say that their name actually gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect. It won’t come as a surprise to hear that comparisons have been made to bands such as Dropkick Murphies and the Levellers, as well as bigger rock outfits such as The Gaslight Anthem.

The album opens up with “City Of Us” which is a great little rock n roll song and has an added hint of punk attitude. These elements combine to create a great mix of rawness and melody. We see this put to great effect again on ”Doctors” which has that same punk rock feel, but with a story telling vocal style that adds a more contemporary rock n roll feel. It’s a similar story with “Drama Queen” but this adds a sing a long feel with the chorus. In fact, on these songs, you can hear a sound which is similar to early Frank Turner.
http://davehughes.bandcamp.com/album/doctors-and-dates
On “Luath” there is a pirate vibe to the song, as it builds in to a kind of rock n roll sea shanty. It will be a great song to enjoy with a rum or two as you sing along at a live gig. “Boneman” keeps up the ‘shanty’ feel before it builds in to a Celtic tale. The album ends with “History Sis” which is a slower and more thoughtful song. The use of a harmonica always brings to mind Dylan, but this is a more mature almost singer/songwriter song compared to the other tracks.
Overall, it’s quite a mixed album, as some of the songs are really great and suggest you could easily see the band basking in some of the success that has been enjoyed by Frank Turner. The middle songs do indeed bear a resemblance to The Levellers, which their fans will love. It provides quite a mix of styles that could actually prove to be divisive. It will certainly be very interesting to see what style and sound the future releases from the band will choose to follow.