Anyone who knows Bowling For Soup also knows that they’re big buds with the lovely twosome (plus drummer) The Dollyrots. They’re all part of one big happy pop punk family, and have guested on each other’s albums, along with Patent Pending and others. Well now BFS’s Jaret and Dollyrot Kelly have managed to find the time to write and record a whole album together.
There are fourteen tracks on here in total and, as the name “Sittin’ In A Tree” may suggest, they’re all love songs. Now this doesn’t mean they’re all soppy and acoustic (though “Butterflies” certainly is). Both main bands have done romanticism before, and both have wrapped it in lilts as well as riffs and banging rhythms. Love isn’t all soppiness and melting rainbows – it’s bouncy and fun too, when it’s working right!
And “work right” is something this album does. Some tracks sound more BFS, some a bit more Dollyrotten, others seem to pull from other influences. “Daddy’s Girl”, for example, has more of a country twang and is a very different type of love song from the others on the album, focussing on a father / daughter relationship rather than a romantic partnership. I think I will play it incessantly for my youngest.
Despite the large number of songs, Sittin’ In A Tree rattles past with many songs barely drifting past the 2 minute mark and this really works. Long enough for the song to grip you and plant its little earworm before blasting on to the next. It also means that if, for some weird reason, there’s a song you don’t like then it’s over and on to the next before you decide to hit “skip”. Not that I expect you to be doing that much, if at all.
This is a great collection of ditties, and more than just the novelty album it could have been. Top notch production, quality tuneage and a great amount of variety even if the songs share a common bond thematically. The funky “Rocket Ride”, bouncy “Make Her Miserable”, anthemic “You Win” and all the other tracks make this a fun treehouse to be sitting in.
Sittin’ In A Tree is out on March 22nd and can be pre-ordered (with bonus stuff) from their website.
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