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NBHAP Rating: 4,4/5
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[one_half last=”yes”]BULLY
Feels Like
Release-Date: 23.06.2015
Label: Startime/Columbia
Tracklist:
01. I Remember
02. Reason
03. Too Tough
04. Brainfreeze
05. Trying
06. Trash
07. Six
08. Picture
09. Milkman
10. Bully
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ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Earlier in the year I went to one of those all day city festivals in my hometown. I saw some great bands and sadly some not so great bands. When the weekend was over and I returned home and shook off a 3-day hangover, I glanced at the line up again. BULLY were listed to having played. I was angry and resentful that my dumb friends had dragged me to see some Joni Mitchell rip off instead. It concerned me that I had missed what would have been the greatest show of the weekend. BULLY are the ‘hot new’ band featured at festivals this summer and are fresh off a tour with California favourites, BEST COAST. It is hardly surprising then that Feels Like is a refreshing debut. One of those albums rock music definitely needed.
A debut is undoubtedly the hardest record to create. At best a showcase of their talent, at worst a destruction of the acts potential. BULLY’s debut is a unique array of genres. Eleven tracks strong, it is enduring, memorable and so darn catchy. Hits like Trying and I Remember define youth with a series of quick-witted lyrics screamed over a fuzzy 90s inspired rock. ‘I remember that naked photo/ and I remember things getting better’. NIRVANA-esque 90s revival is a big feature in contemporary music but BULLY are different. They take lo-fi rock and make it their own by adding personal anxiety. Sound tracked by sublime rock and wandering pop melodies, each track is a journey. The record closes with Sharktooth, a country inspired track confirming their Nashville roots. Alicia Bogananno’s soft vocals juxtapose the harsh guitar rifts and fast paced drum sequences.
None of the tracks by the contemporary band are inferior. Each song carries on the velocity and anger of the previous one. Alicia Bognanno wants you to know she’s mad and it has probably been your fault at some point Lyrically the tracks break all expectations ranging from typical love lyrics to deeply worrying issues. Picture is a relatable narrative in today’s social media obsessed world. Laying all her insecurities bare, Bognanno screams ‘A picture of me/I hate it so much/I hate it so much.’
Track seven called Six is a pastiche of early DINOSAUR JR tracks, the tenacity of 1990s grunge with a reminiscence throughout. ‘When I was 8 I broke my arm/jumping off the top of the slide’. Sweet stories entwined in the narratives.. Whilst you can guess the lyrics of other bands, Bogananno’s are unyielding. Varying her own vocals from soft in Trash to a harshness in Milkman, the lead singer has a unique twang. Feels Like is a tiring, exciting debut with constant punches of sounds and lo-fi guitar solos. An enduring debut with hints of many genres and influences, BULLY will continue to be ‘ones to watch’ throughout 2015 and will without doubt top many of the end of year lists. And Bogananno should get used to the fact of being a role model anyway.
Furious and fearless: BULLY’s debut record Feels Like is one of those debut albums rock music so desperately needed.
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