Fiery punk-folk fustion puts Jinx in spotlight

Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – tribunegroove@live.ie

With two new albums to draw from, Jinx Lennon brings his  fiery punk-folk fusion to Róisín Dubh for a free show on Thursday, November 17.

Magic Bullets of Madness to Uplift the Grief Magnet and Past Pupil Stay Sane see the Dundalk singer more fired-up than ever.

Magic Bullets was recorded in Liverpool with the acclaimed punk band Clinic, and Past Pupil was made with Marc Aubele from Nanu Nanu.

“They’re basically the same batch of songs, they were written around the same time, so I thought the best thing to do, to hell with it, was to bring out two albums,” Jinx says.

Jinx’s ability to distil his take on life into memorable punk vignettes has won him fans like Christy Moore. Yet he remains on the fringes of popularity and his music will still be new to many. Of his two new albums, which one would he steer people to first?

“I think the two complement each other,” he says. “If you were to nail me to the wall, I’d say Past Pupil was the one. That was the one where I started to see the light between the trees, I suppose. I was starting to get my mojo back. It’s a bit more melodious, if you like.”

Since releasing 30 Beacons of Light in 2002, Jinx has toured up and down the country, never compromising on his performance style.  He’s performed to packed tents at festivals, and played some less populated rooms, over the years. One of the highlights of Past Pupils is I Know My Town, which sees Jinx assess his career while casting an eye over his native Dundalk.

“It’s to appreciate the fact of where you’re from, you can’t just be piping up that everything’s great,” he says. “It’s taking the good with the bad, and just being proud of what you have. It’s about self-respect, and respect for things around you. The aim is to uplift people, be proud of where you’re from.

“You can walk tall if you want, it’s more like heroism. In my early stuff, there was heroism there. It’s like Braveheart, being like a bit of a superhero. I work in a job where the place is mundane, but when I start singing I put on my Marvel Comics superhero head. I own that, it’s helped me to see a bit of space in front of me.”

Water Meter Man is a song that sees Jinx once again realise his gift of fusing an interest in social issues with a knack for writing a catchy chorus.

“A friend of mine is one of the biggest [anti] austerity men in Dundalk, so I was sort of buzzing off him and what he standing up for. I got involved, and went to a few of the marches and protests.”

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.