SPIN Magazine, March 2007
These Seattle punks draw on everything from tradtional Celtic sounds to classic rockabilly for your St. Paddy's Day pleasure… (Spin Out)

Custom of the Sea

Irish Post, January 21 2006
Debut album of the year came from the Wages of Sin with the brilliant 'Custom of the Sea', mixing Celtic, country, Appalachian and bluegrass styles (amongst others), which produced classic sea shanty tales of pillaging, plundering and excess drinking. The end product being a highly catchy, full energy and extremely danceable record. that sounded inspired and fresh from start to finish and made a nice change from bands trying to sound like The Pogues.

Shite n' Onions Webzine:
Billed as delivering a treasure chest of "Punk Rock, Sea Shanties & Appalachian Death Polka", Seattle's Wages of Sin do not so much fuse disparate musical elements as revel in the direct lineage of their influences. Sharp tense '50's rock & roll hooks mesh with mountain fiddle stomps in a ballsy reminder that the two styles are just a short shuffle down the holler from each other; mountain music is the raw-handed grandfather of rock & roll after all. And, of course, bluegrass and Appalachian music are the frontier offspring of the Celtic and British ballad and dance music traditions. The Wages plunder these histories with total affinity and come up with a blend as clean and warm as a mouthful of Jamaican rum.

Steaming out of the yard with a version of the traditional 'Railway', complete with a chorus of navvies snarling and hollering in a shanty tent, the band are soon on a south-bound route with 'Lay Me Down' and its 'Devil Went Down To Georgia'-style barnyard swing. The bull fiddle snaps, the mandolin rings and the rain drives down. 'The Angel's Share' continues the singalong with a bottle of sly grog passed around the back pews of a lonesome Baptist church. And then we get to 'The Tyburn Jig'which tells the grim tale of villainous wife-slaying cads and their road to the end of a rope. If this song is not on the next Shite'n'Onions Best Of, I will eat my scally cap for breakfast.

Onto 'Baptized by Fire', which takes us back to that junction in the holler where rock'n'roll left home. The opening hook reminds us that for all the candy floss in the '50's hit 'Wake up Little Suzie', the Everly Brothers themselves were coming out of an old and often wild tradition. That sense of history through music runs like a thread here, not unlike Steve Earle's classic 'Copperhead Road'.

'Django' sees us in Sergio Leone territory; with a respectful nod to the vastly underrated Pogues (with Shane) swan song 'Hell's Ditch'. 'Buccaneers (of Elliott Bay)' has gotta be another S'n'O Best Of contender. 'Graveyard Blues' is virtually a tribute to the most desolate of Appalachian ballad forms, and a cover of the classic porch knees-up 'Salty Dog Blues' is one for the whole family. It sort of reminds me of the Muppets' Jug Band, and I mean that as a serious compliment! Despite the name, 'Heave Away' is a cool cat strut - you can just see the cigarette smoke pooling above the double bass and neon beer signs.

'Jolly Roger' is an album favourite, a fat cannonball of pure pirate punk. 'Dia de los Muertos' tells the wayward tale of a gringo's narrow escape in a way that brings to mind Shane MacGowan's 'Mexican Funeral in Paris'. 'Drinkin' Days' is a honky tonk classic, complete with a time-to-clean-up-my-act sentiment that is designed to make you want to drink even more.

The voyage - or was that railroad trip - ends with 'Saturday Saints', a good bonding pub song complete with some classy Irish fiddle work as a closer. And then you hit 'Replay' and do it all again.

Great stuff. Get it.

Paddy Rock Radio:
If you like your Celt-Punk with a side order of rockabilly... then you will love "Custom Of The Sea". Imagine a Celt-punk band with admiration of Social Distortion while being brought up by a bunch of pirates. "Custom Of The Sea" tears down the walls of traditional folk, Celt, rockabilly, and other music styles and just throws them into a pot.... mixes it with a splash of bounty rum and sets the stage on fire. Hell... I've this CD playing in my car every time I'm getting ready to go out for a high-speed night of drinking and trouble making.

If you dig the sounds of The Black Irish, Blaggards, Tossers, or even 50's Rock N' Roll... you'll dig this disc.

RocknRoll Purgatory #15:
If you like Pirates, salty sea air, 4ccordion, mandolin, and fiddle you will love this band. One listen and you are transported off to the lower deck of the majestic pirate ship, stomping your foot, watching the wenches dance around, drinking rum and eating roast seagull with your bare hands. They remind me a lot of an Irish folk/rock band like Flogging Molly. But The Wages have cowbell AND a musical saw!!! That makes them aces in my book. There are 12 original tracks plus 2 covers, all of which are excellent. I recommend this. -Lisa

ArtNoise:
I say, it's not rock and roll unless you're bastardizing a time-honored tradition. The Wages of Sin, for one, have gone back to the folk song: simple tunes, gritty vocals, singalong choruses. They've spiked their songs with Irish fiddle and pirate swagger, and while such things are always in danger of sounding contrived (I mean… they're from Seattle), the Wages have given new meaning to these old traditions by focusing on a topic that offers no easy answers. Their songs grapple with the problem of being good: adhering to a standard of morals when the humanity in us just wants to get drunk and raid the docks. In singing vibrantly and unapologetically about their conflicted hearts, the band manages to live up to its swindled sounds. For who better to express the clash between church and pub than the Irish? Who better to exemplify the thrill of shameless fun than the pirates?

The album starts out with a serviceable, if somewhat unconvincing, rendition of "Railway" (you know, "filla-me-oh-ree-ee-ree-ay…"), but the gold here is to be found in the band's originals. "The Angel's Share" sums up the Wages' celebration of sin: "sinners should beware… but with one more glass, I'm free at last, and I just don't fucking care!" Later tracks reveal a layer of guilt beneath the mirth ("save your own soul, it's much too late for mine"), but there is the sense that every song ends with a toast. The fiddling is an essential part of the Wages' music; although the playing is mostly in the style of Irish trad—"The Tyburn Jig" is a beautiful example of this—there is also the occasional nod to American blues and country. The pirate and drinking angle can sometimes verge on the silly—you won't like this album if you can't sing along to a couple of yo! ho!'s—but it is all done with skill, feeling, and an irreverent swagger.

With so many different sounds melded into one album, the record as a whole can feel a little unwieldy. There are plenty of strong individual tracks, but the band probably would have done well to cut a few. The Wages are clear about what they want to do with their diverse influences—have a good time—and wisely remain unconcerned about any potential problems with combining them. As the band continues to make music, however, they may want to streamline their sound in such a way that helps the listener to focus on what the songs are saying (and they are saying very valuable things), rather than on the whistles and bells of a pirate chorus.

Drink & The Devil (Demo CD)

Rue Morgue #44 April 2005:
Are you a drunk punk pirate looking for a few good drinking songs? Look no further than Seattle's The Wages Of Sin, former Spectres singer Jesse James' new act that distinguishes itself by making traditional music for non-traditionalists. On their salute to two of our favorite things here in the Drome—drink and the Devil—The wages burn through a selection of "punk rock sea shanties and appalachian death polka," relying on fiddles, violins, upright bass, mandolin and a bit of punk 'tude. Tis four-track teaser lays down their initial gambit: two Celtic cuts (The Angel's Share, Jolly Roger), a spiteful spaghetti western track (Dia De Los Muertos) and a sombre bluegrass tale of terror and tombstones (Graveyard Blues). Pillage and plunder at www.thewages.com.—TD

The Vancouver Courier Dec. 03:
…Seattle's Wages of Sin, whose Appalachian death polka has been known to cure blindness.

Tablet Magazine #92:
Skulls and crossbones, drinking rum, tropical islands and stealing from the rich is my fantasy life. I think for me pirates are right on par with zombies, certainly a step or two above run-of-the-mill superheroes. The "Drink and the Devil" demo by local band the Wages of Sin is fucking pirate music—from the themes and lyrics, to the sorta-Celtic acoustic sound. It's certainly worthy of rising your pint in the air and yelling "Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrr!" Bravo.

RocknRoll Purgatory #14:
Fronted by Jesse of the Spectres, this band combines bluegrass with Irish folk a la the Pogues, and they do it startlingly well. I think I actually like them even better than the Spectres, who are damned fine band in their own right. Acoustic guitars and fiddles keep it rustic and immediate, and they show aptitude at both boisterous barroom rousers as well as darker, more haunting songs filled with mortal trepidation. All that from a 4-song demo. I can't wait to hear more of these guys.—BL

Shite n' Onions Webzine:
One of the good things about blending various musical style together is this band from Seattle called The Wages Of Sin. (No need to discuss the bad right?) The Wages Of Sin self-describe their music as: Punk-Rock Sea Shanties & Appalachian Death Polka Since 1862. Considering the fact that they are dead on, I no longer need to continue with the review! The Wages Of Sin like to use fiddles, stand-up bass, mandolins, guitars, drums & vocals as their respective tools of evil! And according to their bio, they enjoy mixing Celtic with country with Appalachian with rockabilly with Tex-Mex with bluegrass and follow the whole mess with a bracing shot of punk rock. The standout for me where the rockabilly and Appalachian influences. If I were you i'd expect some great music coming from these guys in the future. Anyone heading up to Seattle for the Celtic/Arsenal football match this summer will have a great opportunity to see them live.(That is of course, if they're playing that night..)
Oh yeah I need to mention that the 3rd track "Jolly Roger" is 100% Pirate-Approved! ARGGH!
Review By The Reverend Brian Gillespie