Hearkening back to the group’s earliest records -- then again, who’s to say they've ever moved that far away from their beginnings? -
Fishin’ for Woos,
Bowling for Soup’s 11th album, delivers as expected. There are hooks and humor, plenty of bratty, throwaway pop culture jokes, and anthems for the weekend, punctuated by the occasional strum-along, all digitally polished and propelled by stomp boxes from an earlier, simpler time. It’s not markedly different, better, or worse than previous
BFS albums, with the main distinguishing factor being that there’s nothing with a killer hook along the lines of “1985,” but for the legions of faithful fans, more of the same isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and that’s certainly what
Fishin’ for Woos offers. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine