Vol. #246: The Bouncing Souls – “Born to Be”
Rustbelt Rock Review
By: Z.M. Delgado
Volume #246: The Bouncing Souls – “Born to Be”
Release Date: June 26th 2026
Good evening Rock N’ Rollers. It is with great pleasure that I sit down with you to discuss an album I have been waiting a long time for. Now you, my avid reader, are surely aware that I walk between the tribes. My work with the RbRR takes me to a lot of shows and has me listening to a lot of albums, and as such I take in a lot of different genres. Now I consider myself a Metalhead in my heart, and I do spend the majority of my time listening to Heavy Metal in one form or another. I’m telling you this because, despite my undying dedication to Metal, as it turns out my all time favorite act just happens to be a Punk Quartet by the name of The Bouncing Souls. My love for The Souls dates back to the late 90’s when my little brother first turned me on to their music. Later that year I caught them live at Warped Tour and I was blown away. Long story short, I’ve been hooked ever since. Over the years their music has spanned eras of my life, from High School to the present, the music of The Souls has been the soundtrack. So hear we are, decades later, and The Bouncing Souls have released yet another album, “Born to Be.” This, the bands 13th studio album, is the follow up to 2023’s “Ten Stories High.” It is 10 songs and runs just about 25 minutes in total length. With all that being said, I believe I have rambled enough, lets dig into the record and see what we find.
I can’t move forward without discussing the album opener, “The Light.” This one jumps off immediately with a Rockin’ riff that blasts those classic Souls vibrations. Energetic and driving, it quickens the pulse even as it tugs at your heartstrings. The Vocals soar in that familiar timbre delivering lyrics that speak of hope. To me “The Light” is a song about the light that we all have within ourselves and about how we can share it. In a way it could be a song about the joy that comes with being a Bouncing Souls fan, but more than that I think its about the power of decent people to spread love… and light, in an increasingly dark world. With this song The Bouncing Souls unequivocally announce their return with another unforgettable anthem.
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Up next I want to shout out “Only Echoes.” This is a mellow, emotional track about moving on from a broken relationship. This is once again familiar ground for The Souls. In fact, picking yourself up and dusting yourself off is quite a common theme across The BS catalog. This song has a beautiful little melody, a lively Bassline and a great Vocal pattern. It’s chill and pretty and just a great little song that lifts the spirits and will undoubtedly get stuck in your head.
Then there’s “Power.” This is another blistering anthem track packed with the energy, raw force and well… power. It is loaded with the everything about The Bouncing Souls that there is to love. It has the hard rocking chords, an absolutely animated Bassline, pounding Drums and the Vocals are amazing. Not just the leads Vox either! Those are great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s the backing Vocals that truly make “Power” shine. The Gang Vox add so much heart to the song and the Whoas on the chorus are absolutely premium. And of course, behind it all is the message. That good all Bouncing Souls positivity is here once again, and again we are talking about finding light in the darkness. “Power in you... In this Dark” is repeated throughout, or perhaps, driven home is a better way to put it. The Bouncing Souls are beginning to make a point it seems, and a sort of running theme is emerging. As you delve deeper into the record you start to see how light and darkness are used as symbols regularly in this collection.
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The title track, “Born to Be” is an interesting one. A mere minute and seventeen seconds in length, it is really more of an interlude than a song, and yet I really dig it. It is soft and mellow, simple and thoughtful. Despite it’s short length, it packs a lyrical punch. Poetic in it’s delivery, it speaks to the heart. “Born in a brutal land, Blood shed by greedy hands, In the fallout we try to see, Who we are born to be.” To me this song asks the listener who they want to be. As our nation seems to be losing its mind, this song asks us, collectively “Who do WE want to be?” As individuals, as Americans, as human beings… who are we now? Is this really who we were born to be? I find this song to be a reflection of a reflection; a mirror held up to another, echoing back on itself while asking the same question that humans have always asked, “Who are we?”
And that brings us to the albums closing number “United.” This raucous good time jam is nothing but pure elation in every vibration. This song is pretty straight forward, and none too difficult to understand; it’s a song about unity. With a fun loving riff, hands clapping and loads of backing vocals “United” is a blast. It’s packed with an amazing energy. It feels like you’re in a barroom full of good friends and everyone is singing along. This track is the culmination of the album’s running message: that we are the light in the darkness and when we come together, we can and will overcome. “United” is the final message and a most important reminder: “All the way, We’re United, All the way, You and I.” For me “United” says, no matter what happens out there, in here, we are all in it together, til the end.
And so that brings us to the end of the record and to the beginning of my summation. Ultimately what do I think about the new album by The Bouncing Souls? Well, given my long history, and deep personal connection to this band, that question is not so cut and dry. I have complex feelings wrapped around this band’s catalog so introducing a new addition to it is… nerve wracking. I mean, what if I don’t like it? What if it’s just sort of Meh? Worse yet, what if my favorite band dropped their new record and I honestly thought it sucked? Well, as I’m sure you’ve figured out, that is not the case. Not at all, quite the contrary in fact. While I’m still figuring it out, and getting a feel for it in many ways, I’m pretty sure I love it. There is simply so much to love about this album. It holds all the classic Bouncing Souls staples: The anthems are there with “The Light” and “Power.” They slow things down on the mellow tracks “Only Echoes” and “Born to Be.” There’s the feel good, uplifting vibes of “All the good things” and even an old school, tongue in cheek, joke track called “Asshole Friends.” They’ve certainly covered all the bases and produced an album that is both new and exciting while simultaneously being very familiar. It is an album that really takes me back, while helping to propel me forward in the way that only The Bouncing Souls can. So if you are, or ever were a Bouncing Souls fan, I urge you to throw this album on right away and turn it way up. It’s a hell of an album with some unforgettable moments woven throughout. On that note I think I’ll bring this edition to a close. Thanks for reading and for Rocking. Bang your heads, hoist your horns and always wear your earplugs!
Until next time, Rock on, Rustbelt,
-Z.M. Delgado
Rustbelt Rock Review
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