Made out of two originals and two Irish traditional tunes, four songs are all it takes to have your ancestors show up and dance with you. 

The Grinning Barretts have fused Celtic sounds with rough Punk/ Rock to create a wild stage that will summon the leprechauns.

The vocals are grungy, brassy and authentic. We couldn’t imagine them being any other way. The music just compliments the voice, and vice versa.

The album’s cover is what seems to be a bottle of something, labelled under “Pickled Piper Sauce” we can bouche for that. The instruments’ combo is on point, with a solid shoutout to the bagpipe that acts as the cherry on top.

The song that gives the name to the album “Hope Like Hell” is the most energising and strident of them all.

‘Star of the County Down’ is the most pubbish track, like a hymn to chant with your mates during predrinks or walk home together after a night out.

‘10 Teraohm’ is not to play with headphones and high volume. This track is just pure Rock.

Although ‘The Foggy Dew’ intro starts off sounding like a fantasy, Belic’s game soundtrack, the reality is that it is a song that combines Irish tunes with heavy guitars and flutes.

The Grinning Barretts started in a basement in 2016. Ever since, after surviving some roadblocks and COVID, they finally were able to work on and share their latest release that we had the pleasure to review today, ‘Hope Like Hell’.

Rock Era is a big fan of artists who combine different elements, sounds, and genres and bring their very own crafted style and work to the mix. The Grinning Barretts are a perfect example.

The only downside of ‘Hope Like Hell’ is that it isn’t longer. Four epic anthems that are now part of our rockin’ Irish repertoire.