Great Burrito Extortion Case, The [PA] - Bowling For Soup > Reviews > It's perfectly fine to be a happy individual

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Happy, fun and energetic
Disadvantages:	Very few

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

My initial impression of this album was 'Okay, not a great deal different to Hangover You Don't Deserve'. Bowling for Soup stick to the same pattern we've come to expect of them over the years. There are still numerous rants about ex-girlfriends (A Friendly Goodbye), ex-friends (Friends like You and Luckiest Loser), and never quite fitting in anywhere (High School Never Ends), all done in the same happy pop-punk style. It seems on first listen that it's possible to dismiss this album as just being any other Bowling for Soup album. But when you take a closer listen to some of the tracks they seem to have more of a profound message to them.

It seems quite odd to think of the band writing a song that many of their fans would find relatable and thought provoking, but this is exactly what they accomplish with Much More Beautiful Person. The song is pretty much directed at any kid who has gone to high school and been intimidated by the 'popular kids'. It's a situation which will ring true to many people within Bowling for Soup's target audience. Rather than taking an issue like this and creating humour out of it, the lyrics are encouraging and reassuring, for example 'Hold your head high don't ever let them get you down'. This song provides a refreshing new look on the band, as also shown in 99 Biker Friends, which addresses the issue of a boyfriend being violent towards his girlfriend, and When We Die, which provides an overwhelmingly beautiful new look on life.

So, why do I think you should buy this album? Well, because the charts and music channels these days seem to be full of songs about the break-ups of relationships, death, isolation to name but a few. We really do need bands such as Bowling for Soup in order to remind us that (as front man Jaret sings in I'm Gay) 'It's perfectly fine to be a happy individual' and that the world isn't a really evil place. So yes, even though the band has shown us that they can on the rare occasion be serious, the ultimate message of the album still is to 'Get happy'. So let's get started.

Track listing:
1. Epiphany
2. High School Never Ends
3. Val Kilmer
4. I'm Gay
5. Why Don't I Miss You?
6. A Friendly Goodbye
7. Luckiest Loser
8. Love Sick Stomach Ache (Sugar Coated Accident)
9. Much More Beautiful Person
10. Friends Like You
11. When We Die
12. 99 Biker Friends
13. Don't Let It Be Love
14. If You Came Back To Me
15. Every Day's A Saturday (Bonus Track)
16. No Opinion - Acoustic (Bonus Track)