Hoisting sails or weighing anchor takes teamwork, and 18th- and 19th-century-tall-ship sailors kept everyone pulling together with music: specifically, sea shanties. Shanties (likely from the French chanter) are traditional work songs that created a steady rhythm for group tasks and helped instill a sense of camaraderie among motley crewmen forced to share close quarters and grinding duties for months on end. Preserved largely by folklorists, the shanty’s popularity has crescendoed in recent decades, if film and video game soundtracks, radio charts, and festival attendance are any indication. Meet five contemporary bands giving new “sea legs” to the genre.
Pressgang Mutiny
“Randy Dandy-O”
The five lads of Pressgang Mutiny sing a cappella with authentic working tempos. “Randy Dandy-O” is a traditional “capstan shanty,” suited to trudging around and around, pushing capstan levers to raise or lower the anchor. The capstan shanty’s call-and-response structure meant a “shantyman” led while his shipmates joined in for the refrain, enabling a sense of man-to-man connection.
