The Tossers. I love these guys. Fans of the band always know what they are gonna get, yet they eat it up every time. I know I do. They will always have a special place in my heart. Yet, I’d like them to finally grow up, by going back to what made them great in the first place. I know, this doesn’t make any sense. But hey, try to keep up.
It seems that Tony Duggins, who’s been fronting the band since its inception, has gotten a little lazy with his lyrics. The Tossers always had songs about drinking, fighting, fucking, whatever. But they also had well thought-out songs about current politics and stuff. My favorite Tossers’ song is The Squall, and I recommend you check out The Ballad of NATO. The lyrics on this album seem to be just filler for awesome melodies. How many songs about Chicago can you write? Their last album was pretty much a love letter to the city already. I wouldn’t mind if the lyrics meant something more than “Chicago is the best town ever” (I don’t think that’s true at all), like in the song Chicago (duh!) off the album Purgatory. It’s like the lyrics became an after-thought. Songs about Ireland are also to be expected, but the chorus “God bless Ireland” was a little much. Resurrection Mary makes you think it is telling a powerful story until you get to the end and you are like “The fuck?” Serious question: do the Irish drink anything else than whiskey? If so, write about that.
Musically speaking, the band is as tight as ever. Mr. Duggins seems to have swapped his mandolin for a banjo during live performances, but I believe he plays both on the album. They have a newcomer this time around. No Pete, you were there last time. Stop making it all about yourself. I am talking about Emily Ruth Constantinou as the new fiddle player. She’s great. Becca, the last fiddle player, was also very good, so this is not a diss. But I think Emily is overall more energetic. Also, judging from the video of the title song, she has the cutest face. But you know, whatever. You can hear the greatness of the Tossers on the two musical numbers that will have you jig all night long. My favorite songs are Erin Go Bragh and Smash the Windows. They lyrics are as cliché as you can get, but I don’t care. Those songs just rock.
Smash the Windows is a good album. Not a great one. It’s what you want from the Tossers as a band. But seriously, I expect more from mr. Duggins as a song writer. What happened to you man? If alcohol hasn’t killed all your cells yet, I know you can write the next Irish odyssey, but you know, in 5 paragraphs or less.