Since 1994 now Bowling For Soup have been dazzling us with their Pop Punk glory. The key to success in this genre seems too be that you should never take yourselves too seriously, and Bowling For Soup never even come close to seriousness on this album. Throughout the whole of this album the band are just as nerdy as we’ve ever known them before and this is just the way that I’d love them to stay. Their music is not particularly technical, nor do the band attempt to inject intellect into their lyrics, but what they do is produce fantastically fun Pop Punk music which always entertains and never fails to impress. Bowling For Soup have a formula, one they stick to rigidly and for the most part they succeed with. Many of their tracks have strong similarities and yet never is their music ever even close to sounding at all dull or uninspired.
The music of Bowling For Soup is always amusing to listen to and it is this that makes their sound so appealing to me. I’m a great fan of light-hearted music, and Bowling For Soup are by all accounts a band that never take themselves too seriously. With track titles such as ‘I’m Gay’ and an album called ‘The Great Burrito Extortion Case’ in fact, I think it’s clear for all to see just how serious this band take things and this is really quite a fresh thing to see in music today. Too many bands take themselves far too seriously and perhaps a few more bands should take a leaf out of Bowling For Soup’s book and lighten up a little.
When listening to this album something gives me the impression that during their school days Bowling For Soup were never the coolest kids in their class. Tracks such as ‘High School Never Ends’ and ‘Luckiest Loser’ are what tell me this. This is one band that seem to reject the whole concept of being cool and would much rather be seen as the nerdy losers in life. I don’t think you can ever be considered cool making Pop Punk music such as this, but what Bowling For Soup are I feel is the kings of uncool. Through their anti-cool values, this somehow makes them cool and has made the band the icons of many over the years.
This music is fast and fun, the band possess a great energy as they blast their way through this album and never do their bouncy numbers fail to impress me. ‘A Friendly Goodbye’ has to be one of my favourite tracks from this album, it contains an upbeat and bouncy chorus and coming around the albums centre is a definite highlight from this album. The lyrics are as great fun as ever here and just as always the band impress with great ease in this track. Bowling For Soup don’t come across as a band who try too hard and yet their music is greatly effective and comes across perfectly throughout this ‘The Great Burrito Extortion Case’ album.
‘Much More Beautiful Person’ is another favourite track of mine from this album. The guitar riff that drives through the heart of this track is excellent and with every move the band make in this track they impress. The music bridges upon perfection, Bowling For Soup are excellent here and there is no denying how catchy a track this truly is. As far as I’m concerned Pop Punk music is meant to be catchy and fun, and terrifically catchy is exactly what this is and it is therefore an excellent track to listen to and one from which I derive much musical enjoyment.
Personally I find listening to this album to be greatly entertaining. It’s not the most intelligent music in the world; granted, but what can be said of it is that it is absolutely excellent Pop Punk. The music is fun and uplifting, always the band impress as they embark upon their mission through this album. This music is not at all serious and it is this that makes it so irresistible and exciting to listen to. Listening to ‘The Great Burrito Extortion Case’ is never anything but enjoyable and always the band impress me with this album. I have long been a fan of Bowling For Soup and this album does nothing to knock my confidence and belief in their ability. I have great faith that Bowling For Soup will continue to produce brilliant music of this sort for many years to come and thoroughly look forward to hearing new material from them in the not too distant future. Never yet have they disappointed me with their albums and I’m sure that it will be a long time coming before they do so if ever. Pop Punk is one of my favourite musical genres and if it is one of yours also then make sure you give ‘The Great Burrito Extortion Case’ a good listening to, it’s more than worthy of your time and attention and is in fact a fantastic album from a band that are seemingly never short of an idea or two.
Label: A&G
Release Date: 5th February 2007
Rating:
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
