FM 359
Truth Love and Liberty- 1/15/2014
Pirates Press Records
Run time 0:31:18
10 songs

Reviewed by Michael Rampa

FM 359 is the side project of Street Dogs members Mike McColgan, Johnny Rioux, and ex-Dropkick Murphys /Continental member Rick Barton. Street Dogs are punk rock’s champion of the everyman and tireless road warriors. Though they resolved to take a break from a relentless touring schedule,  the music didn’t stop flowing.  “Truth, Love and Liberty” is the result. The opener, Some Folks is a radio friendly workingman’s anthem and sets the tone for 10 tracks that defy categorization, push boundaries, and cross genres.

While the album boasts its share of attitude and grit, it is less angry and in your face than the members’ other bands.

I Saw The Light is a brilliant take on traditional country and save for the line  “When I found the one that I loved, I fucked it up and now I’m all alone” the album is shorter on crass  and instead filled with themes of enlightenment, empowerment and individualism.

The DKM influence is apparent in I’ll Be On My Way where McColgan’s signature voice brings Boston’s infamous band to mind.

Some are calling it a “humanitarian (non-religious) gospel Americana (punk) rock record”, While the influences are apparent , the resulting sound is unique and defies being categorized in any single genre. Whatever its label, this band has the potential to bring an unconventional sound into the mainstream  the way Mumford and Sons turned folk into chart gold.