The Tossers

The Emerald City

Written by: PP on 14/04/2013 22:37:41

Here's to a drink with you, early in the morning, sing The Tossers to the tune of traditional celtic punk rhythms in a gang-shouted chorus during "Here's To A Drink With You", thereby making it crystal clear what kind of release we're dealing with here. "The Emerald City", their eighth album and first new one in five years, is basically celtic punk with capital C (or should I say capital I given its Irish references), where all the clichés and conventions of the genre converge together in a tried-and-tested, safe formula. It sounds exactly like Flogging Molly before they became all sappy and melancholic on "Float" onwards, so get your dancing shoes ready because these mandolin, banjo, and fiddle-driven melodies are going to make you look like a fool in your drunken stupor one late night on the dance floor.

What's an Irish folk punk band if they don't have a song referring to a rover in their repertoire? Exactly what The Tossers thought after seven albums, so they decide to open the album with an instant anthem of a song about just that. Except they already covered "The Irish Rover" back in 2001, but I guess it never hurts to revisit the same thematics especially when their sound hasn't evolved much since their debut album. That need not be a bad thing, though, and it isn't either on this album. The fiddles, the mandolins, and the tin whistles are all party-starting guarantees, and when mixed with an uptempo expression and punk rock instrumentation, well, you've got a much better album on your hands than anything Flogging Molly have written for a while now.

Originality is of course thrown out the window here, what with all lyrics dealing with drinking whiskey, St. Patrick's Day, beer, and all the usual stories of being in a pub until the break of dawn, but that's kind of the point. Danceable, fun tunes that display their Irish heritage, that's what The Tossers have always been about, and that doesn't change for "The Emerald City".

7

Download: Here's To A Drink With You, Wherever You Go
For the fans of: Flogging Molly, The Mahones, Dropkick Murphys
Listen: Facebook

Release date 05.03.2013
Victory Records

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