For over 20 years, Gregory Attonito has been fronting one of the more celebrated living punk bands on the planet, The Bouncing Souls. However, save for his distinct voice, don’t assume you will find anything Souls-related on his debut solo effort, Natural Disaster. Instead, this is a very short jaunt that features six acoustic lullabies that are incredibly earnest yet ultimately boring.
Rather than needing to prove anything to fans or critics, Attonito wanted to make an album with slow, heartfelt songs, and he has done just that. Fans of the Bouncing Souls will likely criticize this album to no end, as they see their fearless punk leader has gone soft. But that reaction is undue, because this is merely the tender side of a punk. To hear what he and his band mates have accomplished for the past two decades, and to see the energy they create together when on stage, it’s hard to believe there could be such a soft side. However, anyone who heard “The Pizza Song”, off of 2006’s The Gold Record, saw this coming.
Natural Disaster is so mellow that you may find yourself struggling to keep your eyes open. The album closer “Teardrops” is perhaps the most intimate song on the album, as Attonito takes his voice up a notch from a whisper to sing the chorus. “Love is what I’m searching for,” he coos. Taking away the noise of a band, and seeing the simple side of an artist with nothing to lose from a release like this is very admirable. It’s just not for everyone. Then again, it’s not supposed to be. This was written for Gregory Attonito.
