Detriot band The Codgers perform a kind of historicizing Irish-American and contemporary folk that feels alive and genuinely of the place from which its members emerge. The band were born in Corktown neighborhood of Detroit in 2006 and have been nurtured by the friendship members ever since.
Camaraderie and mutualism of its membership extend beyond the band as well, with several of its members having active roles in local unions and efforts to improve labor conditions in Michigan. These struggles are reflected in several songs on their most recent album, The Codgers Have A Little Fun, including the somber and wary ballad “Have a Little Fun” and sweat-wicking whip and windy calm of “Ports of Entry,” which reminds the listener that, while the frontier of the labor struggle may shift over the century, the battle for dignity in work and the right to live a life free from exploitation, remains the same.
Pride of place and the way that the place you call home is always threatened in a world where profits are put before people are also given a voice on tracks like the late-era Cash meets Bill Bragg-esque “Disappearing Things” and the jaunty, law-evading ramble “Different Parts of Town.”
The Codgers Have A Little Fun is part documentary, part party anthem, but all heart and hard-won truths.
Buy and stream The Codgers Have A Little Fun below via Bancamp:
