Personnel: T. Duggins (vocals, mandolin); Nate Van Allen (acoustic & electric guitars, piano, background vocals); Clayton Hansen (banjo); Jason Loveall (acoustic & electric violins); A. Duggins (tin whistle, background vocals); Dan Shaw (bass, background vocals); Bones (drums, background vocals); John Sparrow (drums).
Recorded at Star Trax Studios, Crestwood, Illinois.
Personnel: Bones (drums, background vocals); John Sparrow (snare drum).
Recording information: Star Trax, Crestwood, IL.
The easiest thing in the world to do is to compare this band to the Pogues. Indeed, their music gives the listener a warm spot in an angry heart that has likely remained cold since songs like "The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn." But scratch the surface beneath the tin whistles and percussive, rapid-fire strings and the Tossers have a sound all their own, as well as a political sensibility that could have been born nowhere else but the south side of Chicago. Their agit-prop style carries songs which are long on thought with a rousing punk sound that manages to cram in a huge number of musical influences from noise to American and Irish folk. Sweet, emotive ballads are half heartbreak, half hopeful resignation and showcase the strong songwriting that has a tendency to get buried in the more aggressive tracks. If you have a conscience, songs like "The Ballad of N.A.T.O." will rouse it; if you have a heart, "Doctrines Outdated" will break it. ~ Stacia Proefrock minimize