Bouncing Souls

Maniacal Laughter (BYO)
by Scott Hefflon

From the opening chords of “Lamar Vannoy,” you can rest assured that early ’80s punk lives on in ’96. The positive energy, the sing-a-long choruses, the shouts of “Oi! Oi! Oi!” whenever feasible, and the playful paces of punk are as fashionable as ever. The rock intro of “Argyle” will have the kids yelling “Skynyrd!” the way kids raise that same battlecry at concerts around the world, and “Quick Check Girl” will unify the masses who’ve loved and lost. “Here We Go” is about… oh, who really cares? It’s a great anthem that’ll have you bouncing within seconds.

The lyrics could be “Oh death and grief, and sorrow, and murder” and we’d still be grinning. (Tip o’ the hat to ’70s Steve Martin stand-up.) My favorite, even in its limited studio version, is their punkified cover of “Born To Lose” (the country classic, not the Social D tune). Hopefully, it won’t be prostituted to some Hollywood movie about punks, ’cause this song is the shit.

Watch for them playing with NOFX or the Bosstones. If you’ve never seen ’em, they come highly recommended as one of the most fun punk bands on the road.