NJ punk veterans The Bouncing Souls have announced Ten Stories High, their first album of new material in seven years and their 11th proper album overall, due March 24 via Pure Noise. The album was produced by Will Yip, and lead singles "Ten Stories High" and "Higher Ground" sound about as Classic Bouncing Souls as it gets. They're both rippers and you can hear them below.
We've also teamed up with The Bouncing Souls and Pure Noise on an exclusive "cloudy royal blue" vinyl variant of the album, limited to just 350 copies. Pre-order yours now while they last. Here's a mock-up of the variant:
'Ten Stories High' coverart
The Bouncing Souls have also announced an extensive tour, and they'll be joined by a ton of great bands along the way, including Samiam, Anti-Flag, Catbite, Swingin' Utters, A Wilhelm Scream, and more. All dates are listed below.
And here are those new songs:
Tracklist 1. Ten Stories High 2. Back To Better 3. Another Day In Denver 4. True Believer Radio 5. Shannon's Song 6. Andy and Jackie 7. Vin and Casey 8. Magnus Air Organ 9. To Be Human 10. Higher Ground
Here's some background via the band's new bio on how this new album came together:
Like most musicians, The Bouncing Souls-vocalist Greg Attonito, guitarist Pete Steinkopf, bassist Bryan Kienlen, and drummer George Rebelo-had their work put on pause in the midst of the pandemic. Looking for a creative outlet and a way to stay in touch with one another and their fans, the group began using the Patreon platform. "We sort of grumbled about the idea of doing the Patreon at first," laughs Attonito. "We're just four old punkers! But we realized that different life situations are what helps and pushes you creatively into doing things you might not normally do." In addition to a weekly podcast and other content, the group offered a special tier where fans could have a custom song written for them. "The technical side of doing the songwriting was pretty strict," Attonito continues. "We'd do these 30-to-40-minute Zoom calls with the person and just try to get to know them. They were all massive Souls fans, but they were all so different. We'd just try to have a conversation and I would take notes...something would usually pop out and I could see it as something to focus on in a song, whether it was more literally or even just a kernel that would spin off into something totally different."
After the initial conversations, the band members would set to work: Kienlen and Steinkopf, the only members living in the same city (The Souls' longtime homebase of Asbury Park, NJ), would get together at Steinkopf's studio to cobble together ideas and then send them to Rebelo and Attonito for feedback. "We'd have these very tight 40-minute Zoom meetings where we'd talk about the song ideas and structures. It was really focused, but also fun because we really just love talking to each other and it was a way to hang out during the pandemic." The Zooms kept coming and the songs kept forming, and what began as a fun exercise soon blossomed unexpectedly into the next Bouncing Souls album.
The band convened with producer/engineer Will Yip at Studio 4 and began honing the tracks, as well as writing two new songs from scratch. "Pete had the idea to write a song that sort of encapsulated the project," Attonito says, "That was 'Ten Stories High' and it came together really quickly in the room together." That title track kicks off the album with a burst of classic Bouncing Souls energy, blazing by in less than two minutes of crunchy guitars, up-front bass, and soaring vocals that are sure to put a smile on the face of any punk fan. It's the perfect introduction to an album that draws directly from stories of life's ups and downs, the moments of joy, sadness, and excitement that end up bonding us together. "It was so refreshing to be like 'Oh cool we're going to get to know someone'," says Attonito. "We've written so many songs from our own experiences but this time we really stepped outside of that."
