It’s about time we had some proper Celtic punk on these pages. Vancouver’s legendary kilt-wearing hellraisers, The Real McKenzies, have just resurfaced with a brand new single that’s every bit as mental as the title suggests. “I Wanna Eat Sardines (With Yer Mother)” is our first look at their upcoming full-length record, On Yer Bike, which is set to drop on 29th May via Stomp Records.
If you’ve ever spent a night down the front for The Pogues or Dropkick Murphys, you’ll know exactly what to expect here. It’s classic McKenzies territory: blistering bagpipes, roaring guitars, and the kind of chorus that makes you want to grab the nearest pint and find a circle pit. Paul McKenzie and the lads haven’t lost an ounce of their cheeky Scottish mischief, delivering a track that’s rowdy, irreverent, and brilliantly ridiculous.
The new album, On Yer Bike, features thirteen tracks and finds the band leaning into everything from historical storytelling to outright lunacy. Interestingly, the record includes a trilogy of songs inspired by Sawney Bean, Scotland’s most infamous cannibal. It’s exactly the sort of dark, folk-tinged subject matter we’ve come to expect from punk’s “poet laureate.”
After more than thirty years on the road, sharing stages with everyone from Rancid to Metallica, The Real McKenzies remain a force of nature. This first single proves that even after moving on from Fat Wreck Chords, the fire still burns as bright as a spilled bottle of highland single malt. Get the sardines in, mates – it’s gonna be a wild one.
Header image by Cat Ashbee
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