The Dropkick Murphys. Ballydowse. Flogging Molly. The Irish Tenors. If you liked any of the prior bands (with the possible exception of The Irish Tenors) then you may enjoy The Tossers. They play Irish punk played with traditional instruments like mandolin, accordion, tin whistle, and fiddle in addition to more modern instruments like bass, guitar, and drums.
They have a few things going for them. They play their instruments very well. There isn't a technical low point on the entire album. They do some fun sing-a-long choruses. But I feel like I've heard all of this before. Nothing stands out as being new and instead falls into the tragic position of being frightfully predictable. I don't feel any emotion in the music. They cranked it out cold and heartless. Ironically they anticipate this on their song "Out On The Road" with the lyrics, "Playing music ain't no way to live/ it's hungry, cold and slack/ and if you walk out that door my Son/ well you won't be coming back."
Many people don't care about the heart behind the music. They just want it impeccably performed. Then The Tossers are your sort of band. But when it seems like you could be clipping your toe nails while performing your music it just doesn't create any of the sparks that attract me to music.
2/4
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