Imagine yourself in an Irish bar, and you pass a sarcastic remark to the man at the bar stool next to you. You're rewarded with a full mug of beer to your temple, and as you stumble out of bar picking glass out of your hair, you laugh it off and find the next hooley.

That's what a Tossers album sounds like. This Chicago band plays it fast, loose, Irish and raw throughout On a Fine Spring Evening, their new album.

There are many bands out there sired by the musical loins of Shane MacGowan and the Pogues, and these knockoffs typically trample the melodies in their punk fury. Not the Tossers. The mandolin and fiddle parts of "Get Back," though they are played rapidly, stick in your brain like oatmeal porridge. "The songs are first introduced in a basic, slow way," says guitarist Mike Pawula, when asked how the boys keep their melodies front and center. "The chord production is worked out and then the speed is added in later, which I think explains why even our fast songs have a good sense of melody to them. "We look at melody first and then take it from there. The personality in the music is usually there, and then we give it steroids by speeding it up!" There is something for every type of Irish music fan within On a Fine Spring Evening. There's a tasty cover of "Rocky Road to Dublin," original boozy ditties like "A Fine Lass You Are," and some spirited reels for the traddies out there. My favorite is "221/The Sneaky Priest." It perfectly captures the spontaneity you'd find in the snug of a pub when the locals reach for their instruments, a vibe Pawula is proud of. "Rebecca our violin player wanted to try a reel," he explains. "The cool thing was recording a lot of these jams live, sitting around a room and playing together to get more of a bar room feel to it. I think that came off nice on the record." The band operates primarily in the Midwest, but they are building a steady following with New York audiences. Their crowning achievement in the Big Apple was the spot they nabbed last March, when they opened for the Pogues. "Not that has been downhill from there or anything, but playing with the Pogues was the highlight of this band's career," says Pawula. "The Pogues were a huge influence on us. Man, we played a great set and then they came out and played a better set. It's a true honor. We didn't spend much time with them on that tour, but we did tour with Spider Stacey a few years ago and we remained friendly with them. "Everybody's great and very gracious. They can go through hardships and come out on top, which is awesome to see played out onstage." They dye the rivers green around Chicago on St. Patrick's Day, and On a Fine Spring Evening finds the band defiantly and triumphantly bathing in that Irish spirit. I'd highly recommend a dip into the album. It's a great primer for the Big Green Holiday in a few months! The Tossers can be found on places like iTunes and other online and retail outlets. Visit www.the tossers.com.