ALBUM REVIEW: Songs People Actually Liked – Volume 2 – Bowling For Soup

August 25, 2023 Charlotte Griffiths

BOWLING FOR SOUP have been a band for over 29 years, so it may come as no surprise that when it comes to releasing a greatest hits album they’ve had to split it up into volumes. Now we have Songs People Actually Liked – Volume 2 – The Next Six Years (2004 – 2009). Casual listeners of the iconic pop-punk band, (who could now be considered ‘dad rock’…damn we’re getting old), might wonder to themselves about what could be on this record apart from 1985 and High School Never Ends on repeat, but of course there’s more to it than that.

Each song on the album has been re-recorded to give them a slight update but they mostly stay loyal to the original recordings. When looking at the track list it’s guaranteed that you’ll already know 1985, High School Never Ends, Almost and Ohio (Come Back To Texas), so there’s no need to go into detail about what each song entails, instead let’s look at the songs that one may not be as familiar with.

With BOWLING FOR SOUP, being fun and having tongue-in-cheek lyrics in regards to life, romance, and friendships is more or less their trademark; a reminder that rock music doesn’t have to be ‘serious’ in order to be considered good. More than anything it’s about offering a positive escape from the world around us, so whether it’s fun and upbeat or dark and brooding it’s meant to be something that unites all of us.

Their most fun tracks come in different forms, whether it’s No Hablo Ingles which is about using that phrase to get out of sticky situations, My Wena which is, well, quite literal in terms of its meaning, or BFFF which is about close friends constantly taking the piss out of each other. And of course, in true pop-punk fashion, we have the tropes of wanting to get out of their small town, as seen in the aptly named My Hometown, and the love for each band member in Friends Of Mine.

Yet they still cover more serious topics in their own unique way. I’m Gay, (hear us out!), holds a double meaning that on the one hand analyses the state of the rock scene where you’re taken seriously if you’re constantly putting out dark songs, yet if you’re happy and putting out positive songs it’s looked down upon and therefore it’s not ‘real’ rock. And, of course, on the other it’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics that criticise homophobia. Either way, we’re encouraged to stand together and yell, “I’m gay!”

And then there’s When We Die, a song that feels a little out of place in terms of tone. A bittersweet track that covers a broken relationship with their father, not feeling supported when you were younger and then losing touch. Years later you reconnect where the emotional scars are still there, but you’re determined to fix things as at the end of the day, they’re still your father.

Overall though, nostalgia and happiness are the best words to describe Songs People Actually Liked – Volume 2, with the re-recording of each song allowing them to age like fine wine. More than anything it’s a reminder that you can have fun with rock music; whether you want to write bittersweet or silly lyrics, there’s no right or wrong way to do it.

Rating: 8/10