Source: Album Artwork
90s pop punk has been making a serious comeback this year. Pop punk veterans Sum 41, Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, and blink-182 have all released new music. And if that wasn’t insanely awesome enough, comedic legends Bowling For Soup have jumped on the 90s revival bandwagon!
That’s right, ladies and gents. Bowling For Soup have digitally released their new album Drunk Dynasty. The band, in true punk rock “we don’t give a fuck” fashion, decided to surprise everyone by releasing the album digitally ahead of its set release date (11th November). And we’re fine with it.
Drunk Dynasty is a typical album you’d expect to hear from Bowling For Soup. It’s fast-paced, cheeky, laced with 90s enthusiasm, and above all, it’s fun. Nowadays pop punk is being churned out like factory work. Everything sounds the same, and it’s becoming harder and harder to distinguish one band from the other. But that’s not the case with older pop punk bands. They have their (very 90s-fuelled) style, and most of them stick with it throughout their entire careers. And for bands like Bowling For Soup, that’s a good thing. From hilarious tidbits about annoying relationships (‘She Used To Be Mine’, ‘Go To Bed Mad’) to the bittersweet ode to a best friend ‘Hey Diane’, BFS haven’t lost their infectious pop punk spunk—or their ability to make a brazen, immature rager out of any song.
The hilarious, punchy ‘Shit To Do’ is a “fuck you” anthem of epic proportions—with very Andrew W.K vibes. It just screams 90s tomfoolery! Elsewhere, the heroic ‘Don’t Be A Dick’ is a track that we feel should be played on street corners, in shops, elevators, malls, restaurants—basically any and everywhere. “Don’t be a dick / Don’t be an asshole / Just be nice, you don’t have to be that guy / Show some respect / Just be a person / Love one another, you don’t need a reason why.” Rock on honourable ones!
There’s a nice blend of ballad-type songs on the album too, like the passionate ‘Catalyst’, which smoothly plays around with loud and soft dynamics. There’s also the emotional country folk track ‘Drinkin’ Beer On A Sunday’, that we kind of adore.
Bowling For Soup doesn’t need fancy gimmicks or trendy dubstep beats in the background, and they don’t need to change their sound in order for them to be relevant. We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again, 90s pop punk lives on forever. Drunk Dynasty is another win for BFS.
