Bouncing Souls playing House of Blues

Hardcore was born as an even more pissed-off and frustrated offshoot of punk rock, defined in large part by an animalistic, single-minded aggression whose anger was as pure as rainwater.

This went double for hardcore bands from the New York City area, acts such as Agnostic Front, the Cro-Mags and Warzone, who radiated the seediness and danger of a Times Square porn theater before the Rudolph Giuliani administration.

But by the mid-'80s this began to change at the hands of bands like New Jersey's Bouncing Souls.

With a sound as buoyant as their name implies, the Bouncing Souls leavened hardcore's velocity and streamlined, to-the-point songs with a more upbeat, free-spirited vibe.

The result was lots of smiles in place of grimaces.

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.