Bouncing Souls
photo by Danny Clinch

Bouncing Souls announce 'Volume 2,' share drastically reworked "Ghosts on the Boardwalk'

Earlier this year, The Bouncing Souls released the very good new single “World On Fire,” which found them exploring a lighter, more jangly side, and now they’ve announced Volume 2, an album that finds them reimagining their older material in that same style (and which also includes “World On Fire”). Along with the announcement comes a stream of a new version of “Ghosts on the Boardwalk” from the Souls’ 2010 album of the same name. It’s a genuinely cool rework and much more than just an “acoustic version.” The album also includes new versions of “Argyle,” “Gone,” “Hopeless Romantic,” and more. Check out the new track below.

The idea for the album came from the acoustic shows the band played in 2019 for their 30th anniversary. “We decided to do something we hadn’t done before by playing these acoustic sets before the shows,” vocalist Greg Attonito says. “We had a lot of fun winging it and people started asking us if we were thinking about doing an acoustic record…so we started to think about it.”

“We went into making this record with no plan or pretense at all,” said guitarist Pete Steinkopf. “The first day we got to the studio [producer] Will [Yip] said something like ‘we’re not gonna just make an acoustic record, right guys?’ We were like ‘hell no’ and then we were off to the races.” He adds, “We initially wanted to recreate some of the stripped-down vibe of the acoustic sets, but if anything, these versions are much more involved than the original versions.”

Attonito also adds, “Many of the songs we recorded have been around for twenty years or more and we’ve played them thousands of times. It was really satisfying to bring 30 years of experience to these recordings. We knew the songs inside and out so it was fun to stretch them out a bit and see what happened.”

George Rebelo, longtime Hot Water Music drummer who’s also been in the Souls since 2013, commented, “As a fan, I’ve cherished [the songs they wrote before I joined], and now as a member I got to put my own stamp on them. These versions show how broad The Souls can take things.”

The album drops October 23 via Pure Noise. Pre-orders are up.

Bouncing Souls

Tracklist
1. Argyle
2. Gone
3. Late Bloomer
4. Simple Man
5. Hopeless Romantic
6. Kids and Heroes
7. Favorite Thing
8. Highway Kings
9. World On Fire
10. Say Anything
11. Ghosts On The Boardwalk

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