The Bouncing Souls have been a musical staple for the better part of my life. Introduced by Punk-O-Rama’s 2001 album, “True Believers” was the first some I had heard by them and ever since they have been a personal favorite of mine.
The album opens up with Greg and the band immediately following in a thunderous performance of what made the bouncing souls great in the ’90s. Songs like “True Believers” and “Manthem” are what make this record stand out from the other punk rock acts of the early ’00s. Manthem was used in Tony Hawks Pro Skater 4 and is still a rotational song for me on almost a monthly basis.
The band doesn’t shy away from their “emo” side either. Their album “Hopeless Romantic” showed us that the Souls can still rock out to a slower tempo and some more serious lyrics. “Gone” basically took the emotional roller coaster from “Hopeless Romantic” and just made it better.
As a whole this album touches on everything the band does and they do it great. The fast paced Souls show it off with “That Song”, the melodic tunes they put forth show up in “True Believers”, and the low/high bass lines of “Broken Record” rounds this bad boy out into one kick ass record!
How I Spent My Summer Vacation was released in 2001 and is basically an anthem for the early ’00s, along with Blink’s Take Off Your Pants And Jacket. Going to summer camp, taking the bus to the beach with my friends, and spending the days skating and getting into trouble were some times that can never be replaced or forgotten.
Notable Tracks
True Believers, Manthem, Gone
Asinine Radio 