2007, Victory
Agony: what a name for an album. When popping an album in with a name like this, one wonders what sort of listening experience they're in for. The Tossers are a daring band, naming their album after one of the least desirable distinctly human sensations. What does one expect, though, from an Irish punk group? The Tossers know what they're doing: they've been around since the early 1990s and released their first album in 1996, leading a small sort of movement towards a Celtic rock style.
As one would expect, there are the requisite songs about drinking ("Never Enough", "Pub and Culture"), Irish folk-style tunes ("Shade", "Not Forgotten") and political punk protests ("Political Scum", "The Nut House"). The Tossers aren't presenting anything new with Agony; really, this album is forgettable except to fans of the style. Agony is an album for fans of Irish punk, but not necessarily for fans of, say, other Irish bands, like the well-known U2 or perhaps Snow Patrol. Of course, The Tossers aren't Irish — they're from Chicago. But they do predate two prominent Irish punk groups, Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly, to their credit.
Agony's not an agonizing listening experience, but it's certainly not the greatest piece of art in the world. It's fast-paced, bouncy and confident. As far as Irish punk goes, this may be at the top of the heap, though for some, that's not saying much.