RECORD REVIEW: Bully, ‘Losing’
The Nashville-based grunge outfit gets personal with its second album
Bully: ‘Losing’Sub Pop
The thought of an angsty, ’90s-inspired grunge album in 2017 seems cringeworthy, but Bully’s second LP, Losing, shatters any preconceived notion about the current state of the genre.
Frontwoman Alicia Bognanno isn’t afraid to belt out exactly how she feels, executing the voice and emotion that everyone feels deep-down, but doesn’t have the courage to put on display.
In “Feel the Same,” Bognanno addresses her attempts at improving her state of mind and searching for peace, but nothing makes her feel any different. This is where Bognanno’s vulnerability shines on an intensely relatable, personal level.
In “Running,” she tells the story of a recently ended relationship, but it’s more than a breakup song. “Running” deals with the breakup in real time as she sings, “You say I’m running/But I don’t care/I’ll admit it/I get anxious, too/Just like you.” Bognanno isn’t pretending that she’s handling the breakup well, or that she’s better off; she’s openly admitting that she’s running away from her problems. By singing, “I get anxious too,” she brings up the less-glamorous side of being recently single and exposes self-doubt over finding happiness on her own. But by saying, “just like you,” she stands up for herself, subtly showing that she knows she’s not the only one feeling this way.
Album closer “Hate and Control” asks the questions that have hung over Bognanno’s words from the beginning. She jokingly asks, “Hey are you doin’ alright today?” Then the questions become serious, “Have I lost my voice completely?/Was it ever really there?” expressing mortal fear over how and when her career as a musician will end, before wondering if it’s even a valid endeavor.
Losing allows Bognanno the space to prove herself as leader of the band and to show off the experiences she has gained as a musician, as a human, and how the two are intertwined. With songs that are noisy and angry, but also singularly refined, Losing breathes new life into a musical genre that’s rooted in the past, while setting a precedent for what Bognanno has in store for the future. ??
$15. 8:30 p.m. Wed., Dec. 13. With Smut and Material Girls. Terminal West, 887 W. Marietta St. N.W., Studio C. 404-876-5566. www.terminalwestatl.com.