The Tossers – Long Dim Road – Review

The Tossers

Long Dim Road (Thick)
by Scott Hefflon

While Irish folk-oriented punk suddenly became popular a few years back, The Tossers have been doing it for years, and they’ll keep doing it after the fad wears thin (like, um, now). Thing is, southside Chicago’s Tossers are the real deal, and while they’re almost, ya know, straight political Irish folk at times, they reek of sincerity and musical talent, so you go with ’em no matter where they go.

There’s a lot of traditional instruments – tin whistle, mandolin, banjo, and violin – so ya know these guys didn’t just hear, say, the Dropkick Murphys, and say, “Hey, this style is where it’s at! Let’s learn to play it!” There’re rebel-rousing anthems, joyous pub celebrations, sad tales of woe, and political outrage, all together on a record ya oughtta get if you want to dig deeper than the young come-latelies.
(409 North Wolcott Ave. Chicago, IL 60622)