Bouncing Souls

Editor's Review:

The misery caused by my current bout with the flu during great weather was recently compounded when I took a listen to the affable Bouncing Souls latest release, Hopeless Romantic. It seems like I am implying this album sucks, but patient readers will discover the true source of my misery. You see, the Souls play a bouncy, anthemic kind of Punk Rock, sort of like their label-mates, H2O. This is good time music; Hopeless Romantic belongs in every barroom jukebox. Like their East Coast cohorts, the mighty Dropkick Murphys, the Bouncing Souls make the lads and the lasses raises their pints and sing along, swishing beer all over their arms and each other.

So you see, I could be out enjoying the weather, going to parties, and accentuating it all with the Bouncing Souls, but instead I‘ve been stuck inside, with a fever to create a little party inside my head, particularly when I close my eyes and see all the pretty swirling colors.

Admittedly, like H2O, the lyrical content often borders on, "Do you feel all right? / Tonight" to outright lame: "You’re so rad / More rad than my Dad." However, in a musical genre that often takes itself too seriously and can be characterized by petty rivalries and back-stabbing, bands like H2O and the Bouncing Souls serve an important purpose: to remind us that going to shows and listening to music is supposed to be fun.

So, bra, take off that shirt, scorch some flesh on the old barbie, crack that 40 of light beer and listen to some Bouncing Souls with your bros. And while you’re at it, play "Bullying The Jukebox" one more time, because that track rules.

- Pete Geniella
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Record Label Epitaph Released May 1999

Tracks 1. Hopeless Romantic 2. '87 3. Kid 4. Fight To Live 5. Bullying The Jukebox 6. You're So Rad 7. Night On Earth 8. Monday Morning Ant Brigade 9. Ole 10. Undeniable 11. Wish Me Well (You Can Go To Hell) 12. It's Not The Heat, It's The Humanity 13. The Whole Thing