The Bouncing Souls - The Gold Record

Ahh, the conundrum of a Bouncing Souls review. As one of the most fun punk rock bands of all time, as well as one of the longest running groups of the genre (been 'round since '87, in some fashion or another), the Bouncing Souls have a consistency that makes new records almost futile to critique. I'm not saying they don't tend to show maturity as each record comes and goes. But the growth between albums is so miniscule that the only easy way to notice how they've expanded their sound would be a juxtaposition of records that are quite a few years apart. But to put it bluntly, the Bouncing Souls don't put out bad music, and The Gold Record is as much of a depiction of their greatness as anything they've done in the past. It's rare to find a punk rock band today that truly stands out above the rest, but the Bouncing Souls are one of the few. A continuous output of self-aware, poetic anthems that can often be silly but are more likely to be soul-searching and smart are at the Bouncing Souls' core. Plus, they rival the Dropkick Murphys as the punk band that you can put on when you're sitting around with your pals, getting wasted. They walk the line between melodic hardcore and punk rock, melding gang vocals and huge choruses with melodies that border on unforgettable. "The Pizza Song" sees the band extending their sound to include keyboards, accordions, and trumpet, and winds up as a future classic. "Better Things" is a Kinks cover that the Souls appropriately appropriated--Ray Davies may have penned the lyrics, but Greg Attonito suits them just as well. "Letter From Iraq" has words written by a veteran of the war, and fits nicely into the Bouncing Souls' repertoire, though it's a more somber and serious affair. The Gold Record is by far the band's best effort since saddling up with Epitaph Records and is a contender for the band's strongest record of all. [www.epitaphrecords.com]