Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

You can try, but you can’t keep the willing and able down for too long, and whilst Bowling For Soup may have found themselves unwittingly pursuing Frank Sinatra’s comeback number, to disclaim their popularity, to suggest anything other than the band know how to get the juices of the audience and the public going with their memorable, almost infectious lyrics and untamed pleasurable spirit, is to place a mark against a whole sub-genre of Punk-Pop-Rock, and one that would be unfair, and grossly undermining the appeal of a group that has humour as a major weapon in their musical arsenal.

A six-year studio hiatus, the loss from the ranks of long term member Erik Chandler as he left the band for personal reasons, and perhaps the feeling that somewhere inside the moment had final passed, that BFS had scrapped the bowl dry, mopped up the toasted crumbs of joy, and settled for a tour here and there instead of observing life from the sharp end; the moment when the spoon becomes the sharp edged knife of cutting quips and satirical dominance.

Pop Drunk Snot Bread is proof that despite all that has been lost, Bowling For Soup can, and will, come bursting back to life in a way that is captivating, passionate, full of humour and satire, of beguiling lyrics that are communitive, catchy, and effective, and music that does exactly what it is meant to do, set the pulse racing whilst all the time adding to the party feel in your mind.

Such is the fit of Rob Felicetti as he slides in comfortably to the role of bass and backing vocals, that despite Erik Chandler’s departure, Jaret Reddick, Chris Burney, and Gary Wiseman have found a way to produce an album that could be considered their finest piece of work since 2004’s A Hangover You Don’t Deserve; high praise and delivered with sincerity by both appreciative audience and the band themselves.

Across tracks such as I Wanna Be Brad Pitt, Getting Old Sucks (But Everybody’s Doing It), the superb Alexa Bliss, June Carter Cash (Lost And Found) and the apt Killin’ Em With Kindness, BFS stride the stage once more, the album’s robust sense of communication is driven by an urgency of reconnection and hope, and it is in this message of music that once more the band, despite all that has been against them for half a decade, announce their return with frenetic appeal.

Pop Drunk Snot Bread, the four musical horsemen of a new revelation, BFS back to their finest. 

Ian D. Hall