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Shane MacGowan is the former lead singer for the Pogues, whose canny blending of Irish traditionalism with the fury of punk rock made a wildly affecting mix. MacGowan's new band, the Popes (which includes a few former Pogues and gives a credit to Johnny Depp), doesn't stray far from Pogues territory. He still sings raspy songs about Dublin, drinking and dissipation, all set within a musical context of distinctly Irish origin. The tunes are replete with fillips of Irish harp, uillean pipes and tin whistle.
MacGowan's songs invariably celebrate the well-known foibles of his particular ethnicity and religion, and they do so with characteristic Irish charm. The titles alone tell a pretty tall tale: ''Nancy Whiskey,'' ''That Woman's Got Me Drinking,'' ''A Mexican Funeral in Paris,'' ''Her Father Don't Like Me Anyway.''
Some of the songs -- ''Donegal Express,'' ''Roddy McCorley'' and ''The Snake With Eyes of Garnet'' -- refer to still-unresolved passages of Ireland's difficult past, thus adding a rare sense of history to an otherwise rollicking rock album.
MacGowan may sing as if he's a boaster and a sot, but his gnarled voice contains a hint of regret that invariably wipes out any idea that he is unrepentant. This is particularly true on ''Haunted,'' a lovely ballad about obsessive love on which he sings a duet with his compatriot Sinead O'Connor.
Besides his larger-than-life personality, MacGowan's great strength is his reticence. By staying well within his range of musical expertise, and by singing solely of things he completely understands, he has created a simple but classic record about modern Irish angst.