The Bouncing Souls – Simplicity

The Bouncing Souls have become something of a punk rock institution, they have been producing their brand of anthemic punk rock since the tail end of the eighties. In that time they have relentlessly toured and recorded, Simplicity is their tenth full length studio album, and it should be greeted with enthusiasm, so why do I have a sense of trepidation before playing it? I’ve been a fan of The Bouncing Souls for many years, but I felt their last release, 2012’s Comet, lacked some indefinable quality, it just didn’t seem to hit the spot like their previous albums. Thankfully my concerns were ill founded, as Simplicity has firmly recaptured the spirit and energy that characterised their early albums.

The first two tracks are exactly the kind of material that The Bouncing Souls became known for, fast short furious bouts of punk energy, but the album really starts to come into it’s own from the third track, Satellite, this is a song that is as good as anything they’ve ever written. But Satellite is not on it’s own, all thirteen tracks on Simplicity indicate that The Bouncing Souls are back on form, they veer madly between melodic hardcore and bouncy pop tinged punk without once hitting the brakes. Greg Attonito‘s vocals effortlessly adapt from fist pumping heartfelt punk defiance, to the softer tones that are employed on the albums slower numbers. The anthemic choruses and killer guitar hooks are in full effect, along with that infectious energetic quality that makes The Bouncing Souls such a uplifting band.

The title Simplicity hints at a back to basics approach with the material, and this is exactly what you get, this album sounds re-energised and has all the qualities that epitomised their best material, I would argue this is one of their best, if not the best, albums. The Bouncing Souls sound as fresh and lively as they ever did, this album is a triumphant return to form and is one that I think will be amongst my favourite albums from 2016.  Simplicity is not only a record that captures the spirit of The Bouncing Souls earlier work, it is also one that builds on their impressive back catalogue, and it is arguably their best album to date.

Simplicity can be downloaded and ordered from the usual sources, the limited edition vinyl can be ordered here

The Bouncing Souls web presence can be found here

The Rise Records website can be found here