Pop-punk?
“The return of the heavyweights” is how the PR people at BMG have dubbed this album; they are obviously referring to their weight and not their clout in the music industry. This album is the follow up to what was a very successful 2002 introduction with ‘Drunk Enough To Dance’. Sitting in what is currently a genre given to Avril Lavigne, Bowling For Soup promise, apparently, to be another pop-punk success.
The Album opens with an infectious track that really sets the tone of the album, ‘Almost’, is an easy opening track on the ears very much apple pie, motherhood and the good ole’ Us of A. You can imagine the opening six tracks being played not only by teenagers but by their parents too. Very much the sort of tracks you hear on movie and TV soundtracks. Included in the opening six tracks is their next single ‘1985’, which relives some of the things that were big in… 1985. If you were old enough to remember Madonna, U2, Springsteen, The Breakfast Club and the year I did my ‘O’ levels then it’s certainly one that will bring back the memories for you.
The guitars and the sound really pick up from ‘Shut-up and Smile’, slamming into ‘Last Call Casualty’ and ‘Next Girlfriend’. These tracks set the album above the pop-punk bar and tear a new orifice in what pop-punk’s stereotypical riff. It is not until you get to ‘My Hometown’ that you see why the album has parental advisory stuck to the front. With every line containing the word fuck, it seems that they are glad to be out of the hometown – obviously having never been stuck in Wigan on a wet Saturday night waiting to get the train back to civilisation!
This Texan band love poking fun at established music genres and this is a great crossover album. You cannot hate this album as you won’t be able to escape it making you smile. It is the sort you would put in the car CD changer for a feel good effect whilst stuck in the never-ending traffic. It’s one of a few albums that has something for everyone. To quote vocalist and guitarist Jaret Reddick “If you want to be angry, this is not the album for you. If you to smile and have a good time and think about chicks and beer, this is your album” I couldn’t agree more now pass me a beer!