Villains?

For nigh on ten years now, The Saw Doctors have been doing their own sweet thing, keeping themselves well removed from the Dublin music industry while quietly, steadily, becoming a truly global band of the people.

Villains? is highly unlikely to win them any of the street cred that they so obviously have no desire to court, yet their legions of supporters will find little to shake their faith. The rather curious attempt at experimentation that is the title track aside, Villains? is a bouncy, good hearted collection.

Given an added vibrancy by the ever-present brass section (including one time Waterboy Anthony Thistlewaite), there’s no sign that the knack for writing tunes that lock themselves onto your psyche – a feature since their very first singles – has abated. ‘This Is Me’, the fiery ‘Bound To The Peace’ and ‘DNA’ are in the arms-aloft, singalong, quintessentially Irish rock mould that they have made their own, while ‘Still Afraid Of The Dark’, ‘Happy Days’ and the gorgeous ‘Still The Only One’ display a keen ear for a poignant melody.

The Saw Doctors, villains? Nah, not unless putting a smile on people’s faces is suddenly a crime.