Josh Lederman y Los Diablos

Boston's "Kings of Irish Jewish Folk Punk?" Are there, erm, many Irish Jewish Folk Punk groups there? Well, better to be King of Lichtenstein than serf in Russia, and give Lederman his due over now four LPs - the boy can write and sing a snappy working-guy's drinking tune, more folk than klezmer (and country on "My Sweet Caroline"). The title track is emblematic, transforming Beantown pub crawls into nightly pleasure. And with a spry fiddle he should use more, and an accordion player that turns "Another Lonely June" and "Te Portki Tancuja" into New Orleans zydeco, his Diablos spice up his home-brewed tales of daily life and love. Manifestly likeable, he's like the guy with short pockets who nevertheless buys the drinks. And if he's the movie hero, you know he's going to bag the barmaid in the end. Guiness please!
- The Big Takeover, #57, Dec. ’05

With an expressive baritone and competent story-telling in his songs, Josh Lederman could be described as Boston's Billy Bragg. The Town's Old Fair stays strong through 16 tracks. - Performing Songwriter June 2005

Anybody who has ever seen Los Diablos perform understands the meaning of a rock riot. The band's beer-fueled, Celtic-rock flavored shows are tantamount to drunken pandemonium. Better still, the band's songs, written by Josh Lederman, are as smart and good as they are rambunctious and catchy. - Relish Magazine August 2005

Josh Lederman Y Los Diablos have the waltz down to a science (or at least an easy math problem), and their Neutral Milk Hotel brand of folksy singer-songwriter half-rock-half-country is quite exquisite. - Louisville Ecclectic Observer August 2005

Whether they’re offering up a Celtic waltz like the disc’s opener "The Town’s Old Fair," the drinking lament "Forty Days," or the Turkish rumba "Palinka," Los Diablos' blend of influences always sound warm and natural together.
Part of that’s chemistry, and the rest is the music’s one constant: Lederman’s singing. He warbles in the voice of a world-weary romantic, with the hint of a rasp and a tiny range that he stretches into constantly lilting melodies. It’s a voice of experience — the friendly but aching tones of the man on the next barstool, sharing lessons plucked from his life. And that gives his group’s three albums and live shows — which are raw, sprung-loose affairs — the same sweet, sympathetic appeal that Tom Waits had in his early years, when he wrote broken-hearted ballads with a reservoir of beauty just beneath their surface - Boston Phoenix January 2004

Lederman and his band with the Spanish name have been described as “the kings of Irish-Jewish folk punk.” Indeed, there’s an obvious Pogues influence here — a prominent accordion and Irish-sounding melodies played rowdily but rarely sloppily. They also do rocked-out versions of other folk styles. The instrumental “Te Portki Tancuja” contains elements of Cajun music and polka.

But Lederman’s voice, which sounds like a hoarser version of John Linnell of They Might Be Giants, is one of the major draws. He’s also a fine songwriter, telling stories of lost love and lost weekends.

"(Let's Waste Another Evening) is a wild and wicked album! Highly Recommended."
- Steve Terrell, Santa Fe New Mexican Sept. 2005

Boston's Josh Lederman has that rare gift of writing personal, confessional songs with such universal breadth that the listener, after a few beers, may wonder if they weren't written just for him. On top of Lederman's talent, he's got himself a crackerjack band, Los Diablos, who draw from Celtic, Zydeco and Americana traditions, while adhering to a pop sensibility. The band's latest outing, Let's Waste Another Evening, sounds uncannily like a grouping of Billy Bragg and Wilco outtakes from Mermaid Avenue and could wind up represented on many a mix tape made by down-and-out hopeless romantics. - North Bay Bohemian

Man, I like these guys and it really perks up my day to know that this guy Lederman is out there writing his little songs of wandering and dreaming and living and loving. There are plenty of nice, easy Irish pub sounds here full of accordion, mandolin, fiddles and marching snare. Plenty of nice, easy arrangements full of barroom good times and wistful longings. Songs where nothing is really quite right in life – in fact most of it is damned skewed – but, hey, let’s muddle on through it ‘cause it’s going to be okay. We can “dance beneath the moon/Cut as thin as an alligator’s smile,” or have a few dozen drinks someplace where “half the room is tears and the other part is laughter.”

And then there’s “Mary, Mary, she’s so pretty it’s scary.” I’m not about to break this project down song by song but merely say that each of Lederman’s tunes is a little vignette that captures an evening’s sweet sadness or a morning’s halting promise. “My Sweet Caroline” is one of the best and finds Lederman dreaming of his love so far away, musing “there’s a lonely moon/O’er this afternoon/And I wonder a while/If you can see him too.” All of this just strikes me absolutely right and true. Lederman’s voice never hints at a trace of self-pity but rather quietly conveys a contentment that’s as “sure as the water.”

Musically, there’s nothing fancy going on but each tune has an edge that brings it alive. This is a spiffy little project that’s highly recommended. You don’t have to be in tune with Celtic music or any particular genre to enjoy LET’S WASTE ANOTHER EVENING. Just be in tune with a dreamer’s world and the moon and the stars in the sky
- 9X Magazine (Plan 9 Music) - Ames Arnold

JOSH LEDERMAN Y LOS DIABLOS
Nine Mile Records
Let’s Waste Another Evening
11 songs

It’s never too early to get ready for that end of the year top ten list, and I can’t imagine this album not finding its way onto mine. The band’s press release refers to them as the “Kings of Irish-Jewish Folk-Punk” and, ignoring for a minute the probable lack of contenders for that title, how can I argue with that? The Pogues are an obvious reference given the instrumentation, but Lederman also compares very favorably to Shane MacGowan as a songwriter. Like MacGowan, Lederman is at heart a hopeless romantic, albeit a more sober one, capable of painting compelling character studies that are extraordinary in their depictions of ordinary relationships. Lederman is more of a “real” singer than MacGowan with a voice that’s pleasantly worn-in and expressive, although it doesn’t quite have the personality or sense of impending chaos that MacGowan’s carries. But enough of the comparisons because what it all comes down to is that this record is a blast. The songs are more or less all ballads, but they are upbeat enough that you’ll find yourself tapping your toes and bouncing your head along to the beat. And as bizarre as some might find this music, like other seemingly outsider bands from The Ramones to The Magnetic Fields, Lederman knows his way around a great pop hook. I can’t recommend this record strongly enough. (Kevin Finn)
- The Noise

Too much has been made of the novelty aspects of Josh Lederman & Los Diablos, especially the Jewish, Celtic, Zydeco mix. Forget that. Josh Lederman writes songs, with artistry and wit, songs that hit home with anyone with a pulse and a past. This band has absorbed both musical history and personal history to, on their fourth record, hit a level that usually means their influence will start trickling down to new bands. "The Waltzing Ladies", "Te Protki Tancuja", "Early Morning By The Piers"; real songs for real people. Forget comparisons: your stories matter just as much as Elvis', and so do Lederman's. - Mike Wood- Music Emissions