The band has made waves in the genre, landing high Billboard and iTunes World Music chart positions as well as major television appearances on shows like Live With Regis And Kelly, A&E Breakfast With the Arts and PBS’ popular program Out of Ireland, with its multi-influence style of Celtic rock. It’s the kind of overall sound and devotion package that has created not only die-hard fans, but “Haggis Heads” that follow the band from gig to gig.
The band has been together in its current incarnation since members met in the early 2000s in Toronto, where more than half the band was studying its craft in the city’s colleges and universities. With that kind of classically trained background Enter The Haggis is constantly honing and evolving its sound – blending elements of rock and pop with traditional Celtic fare, an art school eclecticism and a keen sense of arrangement. Past records have seen the band dabble in roots, funk, even adding prog rock elements to the mix, but ETH always manages to bring it home. Alternating between upbeat rock numbers with sing-along choruses and slower, more introspective alt pop songs, the band plays progressive and lyrically driven music that’s strongly rooted in Celtic tradition – from the storytelling to the bagpipes.
“We like to experiment musically, pushing the boundaries of what people think of as Celtic music,” said vocalist and guitarist Trevor Lewington. “Some of our grooves, melodies and lyrics are quite different from other bands that we play with.”
For instance, “Suburban Plains,” one of the songs on the band’s new album Gutter Anthems, mixes an African-inspired drumbeat in 5/4 time with tin whistle melodies and lyrics in English and French. "The Death of Johnny Mooring" combines a fiddle melody with Rage Against the Machine-inspired riff-rock. There’s a fiddle solo in the song in which fiddle player Brian Buchanan uses distortion, wah pedal and whammy pedal on the instrument. Béla Fleck’s done that with a banjo, but fiddle might be a first.
It’s been a long time coming though, and Enter The Haggis has definitely been reworking its music and building success over the past several years. 2004’s release Casualties of Retail (United For Opportunity), not only stretched the limits of Celtic rock musically, but topically as well with straight-shooting socio-political tracks such as “Gasoline” and “Congress.” 2006’s Soapbox Heroes, produced by four-time Grammy award winner Neil Dorfsman (Sting, Dire Straits, Paul McCartney), hit number two during its July release on the iTunes World Music chart and later marked the band’s Billboard debut when it landed at number eight on the World Chart there. 2007’s Northampton (Live) was recorded over four sold-out shows in one weekend at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, MA, and was a testament to the band’s focus on touring, fan participation, and its regional stronghold in the Northeast U.S.
Now, the band’s seventh album, Gutter Anthems, is Enter The Haggis’ most cohesive record to date, yet one that makes the band’s eclecticism shine. Recorded in Fall 2008 at The Hive in Toronto and Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, the record will be released this March on new model indie label United For Opportunity. Expect a combination of rousing drinking songs with well-arranged rock and pop tunes.
Songs like opening track “The Litter And The Leaves” with its upbeat tempo and rousing anthemic chorus see the band embracing a jig-punk direction a la The Dropkick Murphys, while tracks like “Real Life” embrace the more traditional feel of tin whistle and fiddle throughout. “Noseworthy and Piercy” and “The Death of Johnny Mooring” find the band embracing its Canadian roots in true tales from the homeland. There’s also a marked “little guy vs. the world” theme, derived from the trials of being an indie band trying to make it in the current music industry climate.
This year the band plans to focus more than ever on its homeland, and is looking forward to spending a great deal of time in Canadian territory. Gutter Anthems will be released on United for Opportunity on March 24, 2009 amid a March East Coast tour, including a blowout celebration on St. Patrick’s Day at The Mod Club in the band’s native Toronto. “We’ve started feeling nostalgia for our homeland,” said fiddler, keyboardist and vocalist Brian Buchanan. “And this album feels more distinctly and unapologetically Canadian than our previous albums.” This year Canada. Next year the world.
DNA
Enter The Haggis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And they're chasing birds, a summer picnic
Would they be happy if they hit one
I hope their clumsy swings forgive the bird with the broken wing
The laughing parents shake their heads and say
(Chorus)
Boys will be boys
The building blocks are built before they play
Boys will be boys
There's no use being paranoid
Don't you know that they'll be men one day
Are these the same
Enemies that called us dirty names
When the bell was rung the fight was on
But they're so small
Maybe we could take them after all
The principal would shake his head and say
(Chorus)
Greasy hair on the witness stand
Empty bottle stare
Never cared much for the abattoir
Was he the stick
Or the broken bird that no one knew to fix
I guess the answer's in the DNA
In Enter The Haggis's song DNA, the lyrics describe scenes of children playing in the summer. The first verse of the song talks about kids with sticks chasing birds at a picnic. The singer wonders if the kids would be happy if they hit one of the birds. He hopes that if that happens, the bird with the broken wing would be forgiven. The laughing parents around the scene shake their heads in amusement and say "Boys will be boys," suggesting that it's natural for boys to engage in this kind of activity.
The chorus of the song reinforces the idea that boys will do what they do, and there is no point being paranoid about it. It suggests that the boys don't have much of a choice in the matter, as their behavior is predetermined by their DNA. The chorus ends on a positive note, saying that the boys will grow up to be men one day.
The second verse of the song is a bit darker. The singer asks if the kids with sticks chasing the birds are the same ones who called them dirty names. He remembers how when the bell rang, the fight was on, but now he wonders if they could take them after all. The principal in the memory shakes his head in discouragement.
The final paragraph of the song talks about a witness at an abattoir trial. It describes his greasy hair and the empty bottle stare. Perhaps he was the stick, or the broken bird that nobody knew how to fix. The answer, according to the singer, is in the DNA.
Line by Line Meaning
There's kids with sticks
Children are playing with sticks
And they're chasing birds, a summer picnic
The children are chasing birds while on a summer picnic
Would they be happy if they hit one
The children might be happy if they catch the bird with the sticks
I hope their clumsy swings forgive the bird with the broken wing
The artist hopes the bird isn't hurt when the children hit it with the sticks
The laughing parents shake their heads and say
The parents of the children laugh and shake their heads in amusement
Boys will be boys
It's expected that young boys will act in certain ways
They never really have a choice
They can't help how they act because of their biological makeup
The building blocks are built before they play
Their actions are predetermined by biological and societal factors
There's no use being paranoid
It's pointless to worry too much about young boys' behavior
Don't you know that they'll be men one day
They'll eventually grow up and mature
Are these the same
Are these the same people from before
Enemies that called us dirty names
People who used to insult the artist
When the bell was rung the fight was on
When school was in session, a fight would often occur
But they're so small
The children they're referring to are still young and inexperienced
Maybe we could take them after all
Perhaps the singer and their friends could win a fight against them
The principal would shake his head and say
The principal of the school would likely disapprove of them fighting
Greasy hair on the witness stand
Someone with greasy hair is testifying
Empty bottle stare
A vacant look on someone's face, implying alcohol consumption
Never cared much for the abattoir
The person in question didn't care for slaughterhouses or killing animals
Was he the stick
Was he the one wielding the stick
Or the broken bird that no one knew to fix
Or was he the helpless creature that no one knew how to help
I guess the answer's in the DNA
The answer to whether he was violent or helpless is predetermined by his biological makeup
Contributed by Dominic G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.