Bowling For Soup are a punky power pop band with staying power. The group gained national fame for the Grammy nominated single “Girl All the Bad Guys Want” and “1985.” Their latest album “Fishin’ For Woos” recently was released and lead singer/guitarist Jaret Reddick told us how Linus of Hollywood helped the band out on a special tune. Click on our artist interviews section to find out or view the Bowling For Soup interview here.
Brent Cash had such a wonderful debut, so expectations are high for this follow up. The album opens with a lush orchestral overture on “I Wish I Were A Song,” and it’s where Brent’s light vocals harmonize with a crew of background singers. The song is over five minutes long and the arrangement is very reminiscent of The Carpenters. That prolific early 70’s feel is even more pronounced on “It’s Easier Without Her” as the horns highlight a male/female duet here.
Next we get an bass-lead instrumental that resembles Mike Post with a bit of Curtis Mayfield brass. It’s so retro you can hear the afros and polyester suits fly out of your speakers. Another standout is “Just Like Today” where the tinkling keys are similar to The Free Design. The beautiful Bacharach-ian “Where Do All The Raindrops Go” is likely the albums most memorable tune. The only problem here is that Brent seems so buried in period technique, and after a few more tunes the nostalgia wears off. The songs themselves are decent, but the hooks are deeply buried here and aside from a few standouts it may only appeal to pop fans with fond memories of that era. Otherwise, it’s a thick slice of sophisticated pop indulgence.
Bowling For Soup started out as a group of snot-nosed young ‘uns doing punky power pop anthems like “1985,” which compares to the Fountains of Wayne classic “Stacy’s Mom” from way back in 2003. The band has always been about rambunctious fun, never taking itself seriously.
The band knows all the ingredients needed for a pop hit, and “S-S-S-Saturday” comes pretty darn close. It’s got the required riffs and hooks that will have you singing along. But on other tracks, it starts to resemble self-parody, as I really thought “Here’s Your Freakin Song” was something from Weird Al Yankovic. Other tracks seem to follow the formula, but without a musical hook in the chorus it tends to be forgettable, like “Girls In America.”
The problem here may be a lack of any kind of musical growth. It seems these guys have fallen into the same trap as Smash Mouth, doling out disposable pop for the fan base, content that they are good at what they do. The trick is how to keep things exciting without growing stale, and they hint at this with “Turbulence.” The band just needs to start singing about what’s relevant to its life instead of trying to market to Disney’s core audience. But despite this, fans will enjoy “Fishin’ For Woos,” and if you’re looking for a summer party soundtrack, it fits the bill perfectly.
Article first published as Music Review: Bowling For Soup – Fishin’ For Woos on Blogcritics.
Jamaica “No Problem”
You’ve got to give this new Paris-based duo credit for creating a several new dance floor classics, each with a clean hook that manages to recall both Prince and ELO in equal doses. Guitarist-vocalists Antoine Hilaire and Flo Lyonnet combine the irresistible beat and riff in “I Think I Like U2” with deft precision. Another winner “Short and Entertaining” has an 80’s styled halting riff and throws plenty of sonic effects into the mix, but the crown jewel here is “Jericho” with it’s fuzz guitar-strut that leads to a robotic chorus and a minor chord shift.
“Gentleman” continues the party, but not all these tracks take hold, and some feel a little too similar to each other (“Junior”) to make them stand out. A few more hooks and we’ve got a real winner, but for now this is a sweet summer album with plenty of electronica influenced beats and blistering Brian May guitar licks to help shake yer booty at the BBQ.
Spindrift “Classic Soundtracks Vol.1”
L.A. pop band Spindrift puts together a concept album of what your favorite movie soundtrack collection should sound like. Mostly instrumental, you’ll notice is the album is obsessed with western themes and Ennio Morricone. But fans of twangy guitar and noir psychedelics will ultimately be charmed. Some compelling gems include “Space Vixens Theme” and “When I Was Free.”
You feel that if Quentin Tarantino ever wanted some theme music, he’d find it here. “Theme from Ghost Patrol” has just enough twang and spooky effects to make it feel like a lost track from Southern Culture on The Skids. The instrumentation here is excellent, so when vocals do appear, like on “Red Relection” they don’t distract. For fans of Duane Eddy and Link Wray and this is a “must get” album.
The Turnback is the talents of Todd Giglio (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Kenny Sherman (vocals, guitar, bass) and Barry Nagel (drums, guitars, keyboards). Drawing inspiration from numerous power pop sources, the album is the primary soundtrack for the film “Drawing With Chalk,” an acclaimed independent film by Giglio about the lifelong pursuit of a career in film and music (view trailer here).
The unmistakable jangle and beat opens up “Beyond Belief” and it is very similar to the Spongetones, with crisp harmonies and solid melody lines in a Beatlesque vein. The next several songs are excellent, “Over and Out of My Head” is full of seamless hooks and the folk-rock harmonies shine on “Outside Again.” Things only slow down a bit with the falsetto-laden “We Become.” But this is a minor hiccup, as the strong timeless compositions make each of these songs memorable. The style isn’t static either, as it gets heavier on “Love Like Bombs,” and lighter on the ballads like “One Day You’ll Be Rich.”
There is no filler here, and all twelve tracks are meticulously crafted to require repeated listens. Also notable is the clean production by Grammy Award winning engineer Jeff Peters (Beach Boys, Brian Setzer, Goldspot) and mastered by Joe Gastwirt (Tom Petty, Talking Heads, Pearl Jam). The album has already won many honors, so to be redundant I am proud to add this to our Top Ten List for 2011.
