Dropkick Murphys detailed a new album, This Machine Still Kills Fascists, which, like its title, features words by the legendary Woody Guthrie and arrives on September 30 via the band’s Dummy Luck Music / [PIAS] imprint. The Boston-based Celtic punk band previewed the LP with an album trailer and announced 2022 Fall Tour dates in support.
“The project has been a long time in the making,” DKM frontman Ken Casey said of This Machne Still Kills Fascists. “Nora Guthrie thought her father would’ve got a kick out of us, would’ve liked us, that we were somewhat kindred spirits so to speak, which to us was a huge honor.”
As Casey noted, the Woody Guthrie project has long been on the radar for Dropkick Murphys with Nora Guthrie curating a compilation of her Woody’s never-published lyrics for the group over the past decade.
“I collected lyrics on all kinds of topics…lyrics that seemed to be needed to be said – or screamed – today,” Nora added. “Ken Casey is a master at understanding Woody’s lyrics, which can be complicated, long, deadly serious, or totally ridiculous. DKM is capable of delivering them all.”
Finding the right time for the project, however, proved tricky. But with DKM co-lead vocalist Al Barr taking a leave of absence to care for his ailing mother, the band was apprehensive about doing a conventional Dropkick Murphys album and realized it was a good time for the Guthrie project.
Dropkick Murphys and longtime producer Ted Hutt took to The Church Studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma — not far from Woody’s hometown of Okemah, which the band also made a pilgrimage to — to record This Machine Still Kills Fascists’ 10 tracks. The title is a reference to the immortal words Woody wrote on his guitar during World War II. In another nod to Woody, the usually electrified band performed the album on acoustic instruments without using amplifiers, which can be just as impactful as punk rock electric guitars, as Casey explained.
“Woody Guthrie, he’s the original punk. He went against the grain, he fought the good fight, he spoke up and sang about his beliefs. I’m motivated by reading what he wrote and am inspired by his courage. One man and a guitar – it’s powerful stuff.”
Dropkick Murphys are expected to release This Machine Still Kills Fascists’ lead single, “Two 6’s Upside Down,” on July 6. Fans can get a taste of the LP in the album trailer below:
Dropkick Murphys are also hitting the road around This Machine Still Kills Fascists this fall where they will perform the album in full. The coast-to-coast tour gets underway on October 20 in New Hampshire and wraps up on November 19 in Nashville. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 24. Find ticket info and tour dates below:
