Disco de The Bouncing Souls: “How I Spent My Summer Vacation”

I believe that this is by far the band's best work. The album is full of catchy and upbeat anthems. Yes, anthems. These are songs that you will sing out in your room or chant along with in your car. From beginning to end, this album delivers a surge of positive energy that never lets you down. This cd will lift your spirits as well as your heart rate. Greg's voice carries beautifully, while still staying true to their punk rock sound. The Pete's guitarwork is fairly simple, but holds the songs up, nonetheless. Bryan's bassage is innovative and catchy, and rolls on flawlessly through every track. And Michael's drumming is spot-on and aggressive, and it totally keeps you movin'. One of my favorite things about the Bouncing Souls is their lyrics, which are real and easy to relate to. They sing of good and bad times, old friends and new ones, love lost and love found, and about reconnecting with the things that make you happy. "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" will get you through the day floating on a cloud of pure liveliness and bliss. Who wouldn't love that? It's hard to narrow down my favorites on this album, but they'd have to be "Private Radio", "Lifetime", "Broken Record", "Late Bloomer", and "The Something Special". It's great stuff so go buy it!! And also, if you get the chance to see these guys live, go for it! Their live show is just as promising if not more than this album.

...this cd is great to hear when there is so much poser punk out there. apparently, legit punk rock bands have been laying low with new material and i got tired of hearing the same stuff over and over. if youve been leaning away from punk lately, listen to this album. it'll bring back the memories and trap you in the state of mind once again! this cd is a great diversion from the normal mold. thats the bouncing souls way. this album is great. i recommend picking it up because it is blatant, in-your-face, fun punk rock. the world needed a charge of this kind of energy in the punk scene (for me at least). i definitly give the band credit. their style has matured without a loss of quality - thats a good thing. no more "throwing toilets". this ranks up with the great "maniacal laughter". the world is a better place now that this cd is released. no seriously, buy it. you will not be disappointed.

I love my pop/punk fun fast, furious and full of life, not cool produced and prepared in a studio like Avril or the influx of boys hitting the MTV circuit. Luckily Bouncing Souls is one of a handfull of bands that not only continues to record new CDs but actually seems to have fun doing them.

Combining all the young angst of boys younger than them, they still manage to come up with songs about BMX bikes, girls and music, all the elements of the fun side of punk pop. How I Spent My Summer Vacation was my first foray into the bouncing world of Bouncing Souls and being released on May 22nd in 2001, (one of my birthdays) adds a little something to it - but most importantly it's just fun, fast and schock full of melody.

"That Song" is catchy, "Lifetime" is melodic, "Manthem" is fun; and I love songs about music and its influences on one's own youth - and Bouncing Souls addresses this idea a lot particularly in the closing number (and my fav) "Gone". As a whole, it's all kind of like Blink-182 but with a little less production and it's always fun.

The title is ironic, because the last Summer Vacation I took happened to be the 2001 Vans Warped Tour and as a result, I got to see these guys play everyday for 2 months! The Souls are an unbelievable band musically, but what sets them apart from others is how they are able to defy convention. They deliver energy without having to resort to anger. They convey meaning without having to preach. They imply emotion without having to be dramatic. The songs on this album demonstrate this very well. The songs reflect on friendship, love, self-doubt, fear, joy and hope. Another thing about the Souls is that their music is so damn accessable. At times it's almost as though they have plucked pages from your diary and set it to music. Better yet, these thoughts seem to resolve themselves in the music. Being able to communicate such things has been the reason why the Souls have developed such a devoted audience. They are one of the few bands I have seen where the performance is an entirely mutual and shared experience between performers and audience, where such distinctions between the two are suspended entirely. This record gives the listener a little taste of that.

From the opening power chords, How I Spent My Summer Vacation takes off with some of the best music the Souls have yet put out. The first single, "True Believers", is incredible. The rest of album does not disappoint. With the exception of one ballad, the album is face-paced, filled with the usual up-beat punk lyrics that make the Souls so unique. This album is worth an investment. Also check out Hopeless Romantic.