Street Dogs

The Street Dogs are rebels with a cause, unafraid to slip in a track about gun control or advise us that "when you stand behind your principles, you never lose." They reveal a conscience and even slip a little flamenco guitar, mandolin and harmonica into their rowdy romps, but it doesn't mean these Bostonians are a bunch of softies. They chant with the ruthlessness of a U.K. football crowd on "Kevin J. O'Toole," cover old-school Scots the Skids on "Into the Valley" and offer pint-lifting sing-alongs and touches of Celtic pride with all the boisterous poise of idols like the Pogues.