by Johnny Loftus

Hot off their little bit left-field Grammy nomination for 2002's "Girl All the Bad Boys Want," Texan pap-rock veterans Bowling for Soup return with A Hangover You Don't Deserve. Big news: nothing's changed. "I almost got drunk at school at 14/Where I almost made out with the homecoming queen/Who almost went on to be Miss Texas/But lost to a slut with much bigger breast-esez." That's Jaret Reddick's line at the outset of "Almost," the record's Simple Plan-ish opener. Jaret next contrasts his everlasting love with the fickleness of fashion ("Trucker Hat"), and then, in the single "1985," tells the story of a mom lamenting the loss of her Julie "Tawny" Kitaen/Coverdale salad days ("When did Mötley Crüe become classic rock?"). All three songs are catchy, and they're matched in both hoke and hook by latter-album entries like "Last Call Casualty" and "A-Hole." And yet, Hangover just doesn't resonate. This is the fault of production and brand positioning. The album is packed with what's become the generically slick norm -- stuff like piano breaks, compressed vocals, and steppe farm chorus guitars. Midway through the pogo goof "Shut-Up and Smile," it's nearly impossible to tell whether this is Bowling for Soup, or Goldfinger, or Lit, or even Fountains of Wayne. (The latter's "Stacy's Mom" is even a thematic/sonic cousin to Bowling's "1985.") There's no doubting Jaret's talent as a songwriter -- his stuff is witty, engagingly self-deprecating, and catchy as hell. "Ohio (Come Back to Texas)" proves this -- its plea to a restless girlfriend to come back home "before you lose your accent" is both plaintive and snarky. And the intro to "My Hometown" is just great, where Jaret thanks all the friends he had before the Grammy nominations. But most of the time it's very hard to hear Bowling for Soup around Hangover's radio and video-ready sheen. This is doubly aggravating because such marketing will advertise Bowling's pop culture references and downplay the fact that, underneath the slickness, A Hangover You Don't Deserve is 17 tracks strong. (Where you at now, Good Charlotte?) In his review for 2002's Drunk Enough to Dance, a wise man wondered whether Bowling for Soup might one day match the mature noise pop genius of Too Much Joy. The only disappointing thing about this Hangover is that we're still wondering.