Bully (w/ Wombo)

A very old saying goes that no one saves us but ourselves. Recognizing and breaking free from the patterns impeding our forward progress can be transformative — just ask Bully ’s Alicia Bognanno. Indeed, the third Bully album, SUGAREGG, may not ever have come to fruition had Bognanno not navigated every kind of upheaval imaginable and completely overhauled her working process along the way.

“There was change that needed to happen and it happened on this record,” she says. “Derailing my ego and insecurities allowed me to give these songs the attention they deserved.”

SUGAREGG roars from the speakers and jumpstarts both heart and mind. Like My Bloody Valentine after three double espressos, Bully opener “Add It On” zooms heavenward within seconds, epitomizing Bognanno’s newfound clarity of purpose, while the bass-driven melodies and propulsive beats of “Where to Start” and “Let You” are the musical equivalents of the sun piercing through a perpetually cloudy sky.

On songs like the strident “Every Tradition” and “Not Ashamed,” Bognanno doesn’t shy away from addressing “how I feel as a human holds up against what society expects or assumes of me as a woman, and what it feels like to naturally challenge those expectations.” But amongst the more dense topics, there’s also a lightheartedness that was lacking on Bully ’s last album, 2017’s Losing . Pointing to “Where to Start,” “You” and “Let You,” Bognanno says “there are more songs about erratic, dysfunctional love in an upbeat way, like, ‘I’m going down and that’s the only way I want to go because the momentary joy is worth it.’”

The artist admits that finding the proper treatment for bipolar 2 disorder radically altered her mindset, freeing her from a cycle of paranoia and insecurity about her work. “Being able to finally navigate that opened the door for me to write about it,” she says, pointing to the sweet, swirly “Like Fire” and slower, more contemplative songs such as “Prism” and “Come Down” as having been born of this new headspace. Even small changes like listening to music instead of the news first thing in the morning “made me want to write and bring that pleasure to other people.”

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Recorded by Nick Roeder in the band’s hometown of Louisville, Wombo’s new EP ‘Slab’ is a loose, instinctual grouping of songs that gradually morph into sonic territory that’s at once familiar to those already indoctrinated with the band’s experimental doses of surrealist escapism; as well as sweeter, stripped-down shapes.

Most of the guitar parts from the EP are scratch takes that fit both the dueling energies and intentional imperfections of the songs, with overlaid vocals recorded on the same day. The result is an of-the-moment snapshot of a band that’s both settling naturally into a sound all their own while still remaining in constant evolution. The trio of Sydney Chadwick, Cameron Lowe and Joel Taylor sound more comfortable than ever, guiding the listener through a cohesive framework of peculiar hymns in a language only they can translate.

Lead single “Slab” was inspired by a book Chadwick read about disassociation, and came from improvising lyrics in the band’s basement practice space. The song perfects the Wombo formula of simple, unexpected lyrical metaphors wound up in complex instrumentation, tracing unusually catchy melodies that get stuck in your head. Originally made to be a solo piece on piano, “Thread” is filled with unassuming layers that transform the song’s outward simplicity into something both transient and spellbinding. Chadwick’s low-key delivery makes her melancholic sentiments (“who was singing about loneliness?”) universally grounding.

“In Situ” (the title of which comes from an archeology term meaning finding something in its original last position of use) imbues some of compelling live energy that permeates the band’s sets, while “Wolfe Ave 40” is perhaps the broadest departure yet from Wombo’s catalog, an intimate ditty written on Chadwick’s nylon string guitar. “I listened to her and we found there were things to share,” Chadwick elucidates. It’s in these quiet moments of revelation that Wombo shine the brightest: like awakening from a dream, glimmering with hope and reset intention.