CD Reviews

The Bouncing Souls

The Gold Record | Epitaph

By JULIA KAGANSKIY | July 11, 2006

3.0 Stars

THEIR DROPKICKS: Jersey's Bouncing Souls
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The Bouncing Souls are to Jersey what Dropkick Murphys are to Boston — tattoo’d middle-aged punks who craft barroom anthems about days gone by, friendships lost, and popping open another cold one. The Gold Record opens with the sound of an empty beer bottle hitting the floor; that’s followed by what might be the catchiest punk anthem they’ve written to date, “The Gold Song,” which draws its name from S.E. Hinton’s ’60s classic The Outsiders. If it’s true that nothing gold can stay, then the Souls must have a gilded varnish stashed away somewhere — after 19 years of making music together, they have yet to lose their luster. And though they’ve matured, their sound has not, so they’re still able to capture the youthful exuberance and the hopeless loneliness of growing up.

On the Web
The Boucing Souls: http://www.bouncingsouls.com/