Regular readers of this blog will know I’m fond of The Margaret Hooligans. I discovered the American punk rock duo at the beginning of this year thanks to their delightfully anarchic track Doggie Pizza Crust and always find myself returning to their music. The track, plus other previous shares What Kind of Donut Are You?, Which on the Corner and Hey Love, all feature on their third album Saturday Night in Bartertown.
By Graeme Smith
With their third full-length release, The Margaret Hooligans have gone for diversity, and a number of themes run through the collection, from the serious to the comical. Saturday Night in Bartertown opens with a love song but of course it’s not a typical one. The object of affection is a canine in the raw and light-hearted My Dog Ringo.
The Lost Stilt Walkers is an intense and fuzzy lament for disappearing stilt walkers in New Orleans. What Kind of Donut Are You?, inspired by singer and electric ukulelist Meg Cratty’s contradictory love of donuts and gluten intolerance, is beautifully chaotic. It’s a highlight.
Hey Love is a slow and brooding ballad about love going cold (and also space travel). Witch on the Corner is lowdown and dirty rock and roll while I Won’t Speed up You Won’t Slow Down slows things down and delivers some delightfully bluesy guitar licks. Doggie Pizza Crust provides another highlight with its punk rock style and amusing storytelling.
New Speedway Boogie is a cover of The Grateful Dead and reimagines the classic as a hard-rocking number before Say What You Want (Trousers of the Holy) closes the album with a sweeping, anthemic and discordant epic.
I love the originality of The Margaret Hooligans. You can hear their influences but it’s impressive how they take them to new places. The diversity of Saturday Night Bartertown means it’s impossible to be bored listening to it, and the fact that it’s their third album since 2021 proves that they’re not short of ideas. I have no doubt there’s plenty more to come from them and I can’t wait to hear it all.
You can check out Saturday Night in Bartertown below.
