Times Of Transition is the second album by the much loved north-western outfit Paddy Nash & The Happy Enchiladas. Those who know Nash’s oeuvre will not be surprised that it’s a genre-straddling, unashamedly quirky – but undeniably cool – offering, delivered in a broad and impressively defiant Derry accent.
There’s 12 tracks here for your delectation. Throughout, Nash & Co.’s stories of disillusion, nostalgia and unself-conscious solidarity are performed with just the right mixture of seriousness and self-deprecatory humour. As a result, the likes of ‘Julie Bye’ and ‘The Moneyman’s Dead’ in particular call to mind The Saw Doctors’ success in creating stories of ordinary folk, told with a melodic flair and an impassioned vocal delivery – a style that’s also reminiscent of folk punk preacher man Billy Bragg (whose jeans the band have famously rhapsodied in the past!).
There is a natural empathy with real people in evidence lyrically, notably on the innately generous ‘Works of Art’ and the (to open at least) Dylan-esque ‘Ballad of a Nobody’. “There’s nothing special about me/ A middle child in a great big family/ I never had enough/ But still I never had it rough/ There ain’t nothing special about me,” Nash sings before the track erupts into an impressive Seeger-sessions style rock’n’roll hoe-down. Undisputed album standout, however, is the swaggering ‘Rubber Bullets’, which is one of the best songs yet about growing up in the shadow of the Troubles. All told, Times Of Transition is a fine and rewarding record that speaks up strongly for the little guys. Check it out.