08/04/07

'The Great Burrito Extortion Case'  - Bowling for Soup

Album Review

Out now on A&G records.

Review By Nicky Veness


 

Bowling for Soup are one of those bands that seem to have been around for ages, as the fact that they're on studio album number nine bears witness to. However, The Great Burrito Extortion Case is also their first album of new material since 2004 - quite a length of time to disappear for these days. Whatever they've been doing all that time has led to them producing an album that's almost obscenely happy at times!
For instance, 'Epiphany' bounces along at breakneck speed, signalling the fun and frivolity that kids ahead. The only problem is that it's not until track five - 'A Friendly Goodbye' that things start to get really interesting.

While the first four songs (including recent single 'High School Never Ends') are all great slices of power punk-pop individually, to have them all one after the other is a bit like the aural equivalent of flavoured chewing gum: great for the first two minutes but then it gets a bit bland.
'A Friendly Goodbye' marks the point at which the band depart from the formula and mix it up a bit, with different tempos, different beats and witty clever lyrics that offer a little more substance than the shameless namedropping that's gone before. The themes are universal and very familiar - break-ups, teen trauma, and low self-esteem - but examined by turns with wry humour, sharp insight and at times, genuine emotion such as on 'When We Die' (even though it strays dangerously close to power ballad territory!).
 

The album keeps up its new-found momentum right so the end but the highlight is 'Much More Beautiful Person', which comes across a bit like an edgier, rockier version of Christina Aguilera's 'Beautiful'. The funniest lyric though is from 'Luckiest Loser' and will probably be popping up on the myspace pages of dumped teens everywhere: "did i mention that you both suck.com"
But this is one album that doesn't suck at all. In fact, if it shed a few tracks near the beginning it would be excellent. As it stands it's fun, infectious and a joy to listen to.

Out now on A&G records.