Purgatory (CD - 2003)

Recorded in Chicago, Illinois.

More traditionally Celtic-influenced than faux-Irish American bands like the Dropkick Murphys or Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Chicago's Tossers have more in common with American folk acts like Cordelia's Dad or Boiled in Lead, or even the almighty Pogues or Oysterband. The Tossers are a rocked-out Celtic folk band, not a rock band with a few folky trappings, and that subtle distinction makes all the difference: The Tossers can rock out armed with only a bodhran and a couple of mandolins, as the opening "With the North Wind" proves. On songs like the whiplash-speed "Come Dancing," the Tossers sound like '70s Celtic rock supergroup Silly Wizard with a rocket under their collective bum, while more reflective songs like the partially a cappella title track show a level of emotion and wit not easily achieved. After a couple of uneven, tentative albums, Purgatory shows that the Tossers have reached the head of the American Celtic rock class. ~ Stewart Mason minimize