Bowling For Soup - Fishin’ For Woos
Out Now
It’s incredible to think that Fishin’ For Woos marks Bowling For Soup’s 11th studio album across their 17 years as a band. They’ve never really deviated from their style, which is probably the reason for their fade in recent years.
Not ever album has reached the heights of Drunk Enough To Dance or A Hangover You Don’t Deserve, but each album has boasted at least a couple of hits. Fishin’ For Woos continues this theme, whilst being a solid, consistent album at the same time.
It won’t surprise anyone to know that it’s not groundbreaking, but no-one expects that from Bowling For Soup. The infectious hooks we’ve come to expect are also there through the entire album, making it a solid listen, if a little predictable.
Tracks like 'Let’s Pretend We’ve Not In Love', 'I’ve Never Done Anything For Love' and 'Here’s Your Freaking Song' show that, lyrically, BFS really haven’t matured. 'Smiley Face' cements this, with Jarrett Reddick posing the deep, emotional question 'Why don’t we just get naked?'
Despite their sophomoric roots and rhymes, lyrics are always at the foundation of BFS songs, and it’s business as usual here. There are a few more tender moments.
'Turbulence', in particular, is a laid back track that boasts a memorable chorus backed by an acoustic guitar, building into a serviceable (albeit predictable) rock ballad.
Honestly, a lot of the songs could individually stack up well against some of Bowling For Soup’s biggest hits. 'S-S-Saturday' and 'This Ain’t My Day' could be huge hits for the band, the former being the first single from the album.
The album comes to a brilliant close, with acoustic track 'Graduation Day' providing a different take on a typical BFS party song.
As a whole, the album feels a bit understated, and BFS’s power chord-driven pop punk can get a bit tiresome.
However, the acoustic tracks do enough to break it up and keep it from burning out half way through.
Lyrically it’s not as memorable as past BFS albums, but it’s an incredible feat that they’re still coming up with new, catchy ideas on their 11th album.
Female First Alistair McGeorge
Tagged in Bowling For Soup