Let’s imagine for a moment that someone were to perfect the art of time travel and venture through the years, back to 2003 and stumble upon a 14-year-old me, with her black hair, caked-on eyeliner and teenage angst.
Now let’s envision this someone handing the 2003 version of me a copy of Bowling for Soup’s new album, “Fishin’ for Woos.” That girl would have eaten it up, sprinting home to pop it in the CD player, lock her door and blast tracks like “This Ain’t My Day.”
But while both I and the punk genre itself have grown and moved on, it seems Bowling for Soup is still stuck in the past.
After recently parting ways with their record label, Jive, after 10 years of collaboration, one would assume the band would pump out a fresh, new sound.
Wrong.
Their attempts at humor in this album are tired and overdone. With lead singer Jaret Reddick nearing 40, lyrics that reference strong feelings for a movie star in “Dear Megan Fox” or having inappropriate texting conversations with his boss on “S-S-S-Saturday” come across as uncomfortable.
The high point of the album can be found with the track, “Turbulence.” The band strips down to an acoustic guitar for the first verse, giving a surprising and much-needed break from the rest of the album’s borderline obnoxious tracks.
After 11 albums, Bowling for Soup has not deviated far from their pop punk trademark. While fans of their previous work might not be unhappy, there are no pleasant surprises or signs of the band’s growth on this album.
