16-06-2012, 12:43
online listen
20 years, 10 albums, never heard of 'em
another notch in the belt
pop punk
not bad, not good
1.5 from me and a converted 2.2 from the pros at allmusic
from the album - Coin Toss Girl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCUaj3SV7dI
released June 12th 2012
![[Image: 220px-The_Bouncing_Souls_-_Comet_cover.jpg]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fa/The_Bouncing_Souls_-_Comet_cover.jpg/220px-The_Bouncing_Souls_-_Comet_cover.jpg)
Bio - from allmusic
The Bouncing Souls started out in 1987 with the intention of playing loud fast three-chord party music around their
native New Jersey; besides, it gave them something to do while they were in high school. Upon graduation and after
years of struggling to find a label to release their records, friends Greg Attonito (vocals), Pete Steinkopf
(guitar), Bryan Kienlen (bass), and Shal Khichi (drums) got some money together and -- in true D.I.Y. fashion --
formed Chunksaah Records in 1993. Upon the formation of their own label, two EPs were to follow, entitled Argyle and
Neurotic, before they released their first full-length, The Good, the Bad & the Argyle, in 1994.
Considerable touring and partying were to follow before the band struck a deal with BYO Records in 1995. Not only
did they re-release their debut album along with their follow-up, Maniacal Laughter, but they were also starting to
make a name for themselves by opening for NOFX, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, 7 Seconds, and the Descendents, among
other big names. Their style of singalong, hard-hitting, and passionate pop-punk caught the ears of Epitaph Records
in 1997. In that same year, their self-titled third album was released, which not only called attention to The
Bouncing Souls around the world, but also enabled them to leave their full-time jobs for a while. The live EP Tie
One On held fans over in 1998 before their fourth album, Hopeless Romantic, was released in 1999.
Khichi left the band in 2000, and ex-Murphy's Law/Skinnerbox drummer Michael McDermott replaced him soon after
behind the kit. How I Spent My Summer Vacation appeared in spring 2001. Two years later, the band assembled its most
honest material to date for the release of Anchors Aweigh. That same year, the band also put together and released
the double-disc Do You Remember? 15 Years of the Bouncing Souls, which comprehensively documented the guys from
their humble D.I.Y. roots through to the early 2000s. Another DVD, a live one, came out in September 2005 on Kung
Fu, and a live two-disc album followed two months later on Chunksaah. The Bouncing Souls' next proper studio effort,
The Gold Record, appeared in June 2006; in celebration, the Souls played a string of six soldout shows at N.Y.C.'s
The Knitting Factory leading up to its release. The band then spent the entire summer on Warped's main stage. The
Souls spent 2009 releasing a series digital and vinyl singles dubbed the "20th Anniversary Series," the songs from
which would eventually become their 8th album, 2010's Ghosts on the Boardwalk, which was released through the band's
own Chunksaah label. In 2012 the punk stalwarts signed on with Rise Records, who released their ninth album, Comet,
later that year.
Album Review - from allmusic
Time and time again, New Jersey's Bouncing Souls have proven that they're the kings of the summertime record,
delivering album after album of rousing, heart-on-sleeve good-time punk rock that keeps fans coming back for more.
The Souls continue the trend on their ninth album, Comet, a record whose sunny drive almost demands to be listened
to while driving with the windows down to beat the cruel summer heat. The Souls still have that wistful, lovelorn
quality that has made them punk rock's hopeless romantics for going on 25 years. As you'd hope, The Souls cover all
the usual bases, tackling fickle affairs of the heart with "Coin Toss Girl" and "In Sleep," while still bringing the
fun with singalong party anthems like "DFA" and "We Love Fun." Even when the album gets a bit dark, as on the
apocalyptic "Comet," there's still something uplifting about the music. Where other punk bands are all about
"everything sucks so who cares," the Bouncing Souls are still all heart, even facing the end of the world with some
kind of hope that things will be OK. It's this kind of endless optimism that makes Comet a worthy entry into the
catalog of a band that has proven again and again that punk rock isn't so much about being angry or angsty as it is
about being genuine and expressing what you're really feeling, and giving the true believers in their fan base
another album to carry them through summer in the process.
Track Listing
1. Baptized
2. Fast Times
3. Static
4. Coin Toss Girl
5. Comet
6. We Love Fun
7. Infidel
8. DFA
9. In Sleep
10. Ship in a Bottle
20 years, 10 albums, never heard of 'em
another notch in the belt
pop punk
not bad, not good
1.5 from me and a converted 2.2 from the pros at allmusic
from the album - Coin Toss Girl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCUaj3SV7dI
released June 12th 2012
Bio - from allmusic
The Bouncing Souls started out in 1987 with the intention of playing loud fast three-chord party music around their
native New Jersey; besides, it gave them something to do while they were in high school. Upon graduation and after
years of struggling to find a label to release their records, friends Greg Attonito (vocals), Pete Steinkopf
(guitar), Bryan Kienlen (bass), and Shal Khichi (drums) got some money together and -- in true D.I.Y. fashion --
formed Chunksaah Records in 1993. Upon the formation of their own label, two EPs were to follow, entitled Argyle and
Neurotic, before they released their first full-length, The Good, the Bad & the Argyle, in 1994.
Considerable touring and partying were to follow before the band struck a deal with BYO Records in 1995. Not only
did they re-release their debut album along with their follow-up, Maniacal Laughter, but they were also starting to
make a name for themselves by opening for NOFX, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, 7 Seconds, and the Descendents, among
other big names. Their style of singalong, hard-hitting, and passionate pop-punk caught the ears of Epitaph Records
in 1997. In that same year, their self-titled third album was released, which not only called attention to The
Bouncing Souls around the world, but also enabled them to leave their full-time jobs for a while. The live EP Tie
One On held fans over in 1998 before their fourth album, Hopeless Romantic, was released in 1999.
Khichi left the band in 2000, and ex-Murphy's Law/Skinnerbox drummer Michael McDermott replaced him soon after
behind the kit. How I Spent My Summer Vacation appeared in spring 2001. Two years later, the band assembled its most
honest material to date for the release of Anchors Aweigh. That same year, the band also put together and released
the double-disc Do You Remember? 15 Years of the Bouncing Souls, which comprehensively documented the guys from
their humble D.I.Y. roots through to the early 2000s. Another DVD, a live one, came out in September 2005 on Kung
Fu, and a live two-disc album followed two months later on Chunksaah. The Bouncing Souls' next proper studio effort,
The Gold Record, appeared in June 2006; in celebration, the Souls played a string of six soldout shows at N.Y.C.'s
The Knitting Factory leading up to its release. The band then spent the entire summer on Warped's main stage. The
Souls spent 2009 releasing a series digital and vinyl singles dubbed the "20th Anniversary Series," the songs from
which would eventually become their 8th album, 2010's Ghosts on the Boardwalk, which was released through the band's
own Chunksaah label. In 2012 the punk stalwarts signed on with Rise Records, who released their ninth album, Comet,
later that year.
Album Review - from allmusic
Time and time again, New Jersey's Bouncing Souls have proven that they're the kings of the summertime record,
delivering album after album of rousing, heart-on-sleeve good-time punk rock that keeps fans coming back for more.
The Souls continue the trend on their ninth album, Comet, a record whose sunny drive almost demands to be listened
to while driving with the windows down to beat the cruel summer heat. The Souls still have that wistful, lovelorn
quality that has made them punk rock's hopeless romantics for going on 25 years. As you'd hope, The Souls cover all
the usual bases, tackling fickle affairs of the heart with "Coin Toss Girl" and "In Sleep," while still bringing the
fun with singalong party anthems like "DFA" and "We Love Fun." Even when the album gets a bit dark, as on the
apocalyptic "Comet," there's still something uplifting about the music. Where other punk bands are all about
"everything sucks so who cares," the Bouncing Souls are still all heart, even facing the end of the world with some
kind of hope that things will be OK. It's this kind of endless optimism that makes Comet a worthy entry into the
catalog of a band that has proven again and again that punk rock isn't so much about being angry or angsty as it is
about being genuine and expressing what you're really feeling, and giving the true believers in their fan base
another album to carry them through summer in the process.
Track Listing
1. Baptized
2. Fast Times
3. Static
4. Coin Toss Girl
5. Comet
6. We Love Fun
7. Infidel
8. DFA
9. In Sleep
10. Ship in a Bottle
