There’s probably never been a better time for overtly Celtic-derived rock n’ roll than now. The Pogues, the great innovators who brought you New Wave music with banjo and tin-whistle, are now in their second reunion tour, the Dropkick Murphys are a household name in some circles, and Flogging Molly’s been getting radio-play on mainstream modern-rock stations for an album or two. Poised to take advantage of this resurgence are Chicago’s own The Tossers (official website).

Click Here to download “Good Mornin’ Da,” a great song off The Valley of the Shadow of Death.

The Tossers kick ass. There is no denying that they work on every level. They’re about the closest thing to the Pogues that the world has seen since, well, the Pogues, and that can only be good. While Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys write American music that has been influenced by their Irish-American (and Irish) background, the Tossers are probably the first American band to write straight-up Irish music that has been influenced by their upbringing as Americans. Even at their most punk-rock they manage to keep everything that’s good about acoustic traditional music in the mix, and the result is generally infectious, moving, and brilliant.

Lyrically as well as musically, they’re on top of their game. For a band signed to Victory Records – a label I mostly associate with Hardcore bands – they’re downright literary. They’ve got a sense of history, of poetry, and of the beautiful interplay between the two that the best of Irish music has always stood for, which rivals anyone else currently making music.

Their most recent album, The Valley of the Shadow of Death (amazon.com), is their Victory Records debut, and it shows off all the skills they’ve honed in previous efforts to full effect. The opening track, “Good Mornin’ Da” (video | MP3) is everything a fan of Dropkick could wish for in a punk-rock anthem – with nary a distorted guitar in sight. The best track is probably “Drinking in the Day”, a tribute to Ronnie Drew of the Dubliners co-written by Bono, but there’s not a single misstep on the album. They cross national boundaries with ease, from songs that reference landmarks in Dublin to songs that reference American pop-culture, and they do both with a style and grace that’s missing all-too-frequently these days. No self-respecting Irish band could offer an album that doesn’t touch on politics, and they’re as moving, thought-provoking, and lyrical on that subject as they are on alcoholism, love, and loss, in “Go Down Witch Down”, a scathing denunciation of American hypocrisy from founding to the present.

In short, The Valley of the Shadow of Death is recommended to music lovers of all types. The Tossers are smart, musical, lyrical, and poignant; this most recent effort strengthens their position as one of the best American bands currently putting out music. Those new to the world of Irish traditional music and its offspring will find the album a wonderful introduction, and old hands will delight in the skillful instrumentation and first-rate song-writing.

The Tossers kick ass. There is no denying that they work on every level. They’re about the closest thing to the Pogues that the world has seen since, well, the Pogues, and that can only be good. While Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys write American music that has been influenced by their Irish-American (and Irish) background, the Tossers are probably the first American band to write straight-up Irish music that has been influenced by their upbringing as Americans. Even at their most punk-rock they manage to keep everything that’s good about acoustic traditional music in the mix, and the result is generally infectious, moving, and brilliant.

Lyrically as well as musically, they’re on top of their game. For a band signed to Victory Records – a label I mostly associate with Hardcore bands – they’re downright literary. They’ve got a sense of history, of poetry, and of the beautiful interplay between the two that the best of Irish music has always stood for, which rivals anyone else currently making music.

Their most recent album, The Valley of the Shadow of Death (amazon.com), is their Victory Records debut, and it shows off all the skills they’ve honed in previous efforts to full effect. The opening track, “Good Mornin’ Da” (video | MP3) is everything a fan of Dropkick could wish for in a punk-rock anthem – with nary a distorted guitar in sight. The best track is probably “Drinking in the Day”, a tribute to Ronnie Drew of the Dubliners co-written by Bono, but there’s not a single misstep on the album. They cross national boundaries with ease, from songs that reference landmarks in Dublin to songs that reference American pop-culture, and they do both with a style and grace that’s missing all-too-frequently these days. No self-respecting Irish band could offer an album that doesn’t touch on politics, and they’re as moving, thought-provoking, and lyrical on that subject as they are on alcoholism, love, and loss, in “Go Down Witch Down”, a scathing denunciation of American hypocrisy from founding to the present.

In short, The Valley of the Shadow of Death is recommended to music lovers of all types. The Tossers are smart, musical, lyrical, and poignant; this most recent effort strengthens their position as one of the best American bands currently putting out music. Those new to the world of Irish traditional music and its offspring will find the album a wonderful introduction, and old hands will delight in the skillful instrumentation and first-rate song-writing.