Two things remain certain when it comes to Texas pop-punk veterans Bowling For Soup: the band is wonderfully self-aware, and they remain the undisputed champions when it comes to bridges.
Long-time fans of the foursome will find much to appreciate and enjoy from the new record, Pop Drunk Snot Bread (Brando/Que-so Records), and newcomers or the uninitiated can revel in BFS’s best musical performance to date.
Original lead vocalist Jaret Reddick is not for everyone; his unique brand of sarcastic lyrics and at times trailer-trash themes don’t always appeal to the masses, but it shouldn’t overshadow his brilliant voice and inimitable singing abilities (not to mention he’s a confident stage presence).
The album additionally features quite a few moments that seem to reveal BFS’s musical influences (or maybe vice versa). ‘Getting Old Sucks (But Everybody’s Doing It)’ sees a guitar tone which imitates classic Australian pop-punkers Bodyjar. ‘After All These Beers’ harkens back to the heyday of The All-American Rejects. And ‘The Best We Can’ subtly resembles Nine Days.
As for those bridges, well, let’s have a discussion.
‘Getting Old Sucks’ is on-the-nose entertainment. Notable lines include ‘Smells like Werther’s Originals in here.’ ‘After All These Beers’ sees Reddick narrating the power chord progressions in real-time.
Musically, Reddick and fellow shredmeister Chris Burney do their best impression of mid-to-late nineties Pop Punk. ‘I Wanna Be Brad Pitt’ is lively, followed by ‘Hello Anxiety,’ typical BFS with jumpy and upbeat riffing coupled with facetious lyrics. ‘The Letter 3 (Sitcom Song) is self-explanatory. A suave guitar fill and a nod to Cheers (“Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name”) transitions into ‘Wouldn’t Change A Thing.’ The latter is a nod to the fans in a way only Bowling For Soup can pull off. The refrain “I sang about 1985 / Nineteen years after 1985’ is sure to get a hearty pop when performed live.
Lastly, I would be remiss to leave out the multiple interludes spoken by a curious voice (Morgan Freeman?) ‘Bowling For Soup Pee Break’ is exactly that; ‘Public Service Announcement’ takes a step back and implores the listener that ‘You are important’ and ‘This planet is better with you on it.’
Oh yeah, and the WWE goddess herself – Alexa Bliss – is given her own skatepark punk song, with her pig Larry-Steve even receiving his own shout out. It truly is ‘Girl All The Bad Guys Want’ coming full circle.
If you’ve followed Bowling For Soup since their 1994 inception, you’ll find much to appreciate throughout (and you should also revisit your life’s morals). If you’ve only heard the mainstream hits, Pop Drunk Snot Bread satisfies the ears of many a pop-punk aficionado.
Buy the album here: https://amzn.to/3LeTNvD
8 / 10
MATT COOK