Bouncing Souls HOPELESS ROMANTIC

Bouncing Souls: Greg (vocals); The Pete (guitar); Bryan (bass); Shal (drums).
Additional personnel: Kara Wethington.
Recorded at The Plant, Sausalito, California.
Those of you who miss the irreverently hard-rocking sound of the Misfits would do well to hear this album. Mixing loud, power-chord-laden hard rock, punk (circa '77/'78) and outrageously catchy power-pop-tinged melodic hooks, the Bouncing Souls deliver tales of heartache with a defiant smirk. Drums pound, the guitars are terse and the vocals are as youthfully snotty as early Ramones, Replacements or Dead Boys. The sing-along choruses are infectious as sports cheers and the lyrics are sarcastic in a juvenile manner (and that's meant as a compliment--check out "Bullying the Jukebox"). HOPELESS ROMANTIC doesn't break any new ground, but it does remind one how much FUN rock & roll can be.

• Genre: Rock
• Format: Vinyl