Ye Banished Privateers – ‘Til the Sea Shall Give up Her Dead

Written by on 20-06-2025 at 19:52.

The Swedish pirates of Ye Banished Privateers sail back into port with a new album this spring. I have been a fan of this band since the album First Night Back In Port, but retroactively I have also processed the first albums. Each and every one beautiful copies with ‘profound pirate music’, although that description sounds like an oxymoron in light of bands like Alestorm nowadays. Not with this band, because although the theme concerns the wild life of pirates, there is always a (well thought out) historical story to each of the albums. In addition, it is also an immense company that performs live on stage. So even without an audience you already have a party.

I can already imagine that a song like Raise Your Glass will do well live. The lyrics invite you to sing along of course, but in the past these pirates have presented party songs that showed more enthusiasm. That seems to be a constant on this record: instrumentwise there is a nice layering, but it also feels a bit (too) controlled. Opener The Cranker will also be on the dance lists of the summer festivals, but here too the roughness of First Night Back In Port or a less old track like Rowing With One Hand is somewhat missing. This makes way for a very refined product. Finally, the clip of Chained Below has been released, in which female vocals contribute. It’s a nice song and undoubtedly one that the audience will enjoy, but it must be said that these are not the most interesting songs on the record.

Personally I think the fragile Waves Away is utterly beautiful. Here the female vocals bring a lot of depth, as happened in the past with Annabel. A Final Toast for Oliver Cromwell is a wonderful pirate song with an Irish melody in which the band shows some historical depth. I think that Cromwell is still a name that many Irish people will have a strong opinion about. As The Tree Falls shows some melancholy that reminds me of Skippy Aye Yo and if you prefer a party song, then in addition to the Oliver Cromwell hit I would refer to Here’s to the Royal Navy, which also features some Irish flute and is one of the nicer pirate songs on this record. Mates Together is also a great party song in the same style.

So there are some fillers and the clips certainly do not show the best songs on this record in my opinion. It doesn’t change the fact that this is just another record that makes you happy. A little less than last time, but it promises to be a nice summer if it’s up to Ye Banished Privateers. Live at Castle Fest of course, but they can also be found at many other places in the area.

Score:

78/100

Label:

Napalm Records, 2025

Tracklisting:

  1. The Cranker
  2. Waves Away
  3. A Final Toast for Oliver Cromwell
  4. Raise Your Glass
  5. A Hardworking Crew
  6. As the Tree Falls
  7. Whydah Galley
  8. Chained Below
  9. Ships Lost at Sea
  10. Here’s to the Royal Navy
  11. Mates Together
  12. Sailmaker’s Song

Line-up:

  • Anders ‘Nobility’ Nyberg – Cimbalom, celesta, harmonium, piano
  • Anton ‘Taljenblock’ Teljebäck – Viola pomposa, harmonium
  • Björn ‘Bellows’ Malmros – Accordeon, harmonica, oceandrums, dhool, djembé, tabla
  • Emil ‘Emilio’ du Monde Nilsson-Mäki – Vocals, guitar, contrabas
  • Eva ‘Eva the Navigator’ Maaherra Lövheim – Flute, octapad
  • Frida ‘Freebird’ Granström – Flute, brass, trumpet, octapad
  • Hampus ‘Monkey Boy’ Holm – German basdrum, octapad
  • Hampus ‘Bojtikken’ Larsson – Cajón, percussion, octapad, bouzouki, guitar
  • Ina Molin – Cajón, dhool
  • Linnéa Enberg – Percussion, octapad
  • Jens ‘Wan Chou Zhong’ Tzan Choong – Banjo, gitalele, sitar
  • Jim ‘Silent Jim’ Sundström – Mandoline, electrobas
  • Joel ‘Slagter-Lars’ Löfwenius – Guitar, keyboardbas
  • Jonas ‘Hog Eye McGinn’ Nilsson – Five string banjo, madal
  • Kristian ‘Good Christian’ Persson Hodén – Bellow instruments
  • Lisa ‘Bloody Liz’ Carlsson – Cajón, percussion
  • Louise ‘Happy Lou’ Gillman – Flute
  • Magda ‘Magda Malvina Märlprim’ Andersson – Synthesizer, bouzouki
  • Magnus ‘Val du Monde’ Nilsson-Mäki – Technosynthesizer, guitar, upright bass
  • Martin ‘Scurvy Ben’ Gavelin – Cajón, morsing, wah-wah
  • Mattias ‘Sickboy McCoy’ Johansson – Washboard, tambourine, metal
  • Melker Häggbom ‘Father Silver’ Klingberg – Ukelele bass, contrabas
  • Niklas ‘Meat stick Nick’ Boman – Upright bass, bass trombone
  • Peter ‘Quartermaster Blackpowder’ Pete Mollwing – Vocals
  • Richard ‘Old Red’ Larsson – Ukelele bass, upright bass, bouzouki, twelve string guitar
  • Sara ‘Landmark’ Lundmark – Percussion, tambour drum
  • Sara ‘Major John’ Wallin – Recorder, oceaandrums
  • Stina Hake – Recorder, dhool, flutes, cello
  • William ‘Shameless’ Will Hallin – Various sounds

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