by Eric Bennett (@seething_coast)
Since their 2015 debut, Nashville’s Bully have constantly shattered expectations of how much their sound can surge. On their third record, SUGAREGG, they’re at the top of their game, with what feels like an impossible amount of energy. It’s fascinating how easy it is to point to a song and know it’s Bully, they’re unmistakable, a band that sounds distinct in a crowded genre. That singularity is in large part to bandleader Alicia Bognanno’s raspy, oft shouted vocals.
Since the bands shift from a three-piece to Bognanno’s solo act, her songwriting has only gotten stronger, and her performance tighter. That said, the accompanying musicians featured on SUGAREGG are integral to its success. The drums, done by Wesley Mitchell, are impeccable and inventive, and Nick Byrd’s basslines serve as a sound foundation for several cuts. While collaboration can be a useful asset for some bands, SUGAREGG’s strength gives the impression that Bognanno being free to write whatever she wanted has allowed her to surpass herself.
The record’s opening cut, “Add It On” feels like the only way you could properly begin a body of work like this. Droning guitar floats in the air for a moment before the drumsticks hit, and everything kicks into high gear. Bognanno leads us along, running through her interpersonal relationships and frustrations with poor communication.
For an album where so much is expressed like years of pent up rage being unleashed over forty minutes, there is a surprising amount of playfulness involved. Tracks like “Stuck in Your Head” and “Every Tradition” start with little clips of Bognanno recorded speaking before laying down the track. Her “I just wanted you to pick up the tempooo” that runs out in front of “Stuck in Your Head” catches your attention, only for your focus to shift to one of the record's highlights. Bognanno’s voice is coming at you from all angles, often warped and filtered, until building to a wall of sheer power.
In what feels like the closest one can come to using sequencing to make a joke, the song is followed by the slow-burner “Come Down.” Is this song Bognanno flirting with new sounds, perhaps influenced by the power country music has in Nashville? Whatever the reasoning behind this song existing as their lone work featuring piano keys interspersed throughout, it’s superb. It gives fans a taste of her unique voice in repose, letting it become a calming force. With bands like Angel Du$t toying with genre to the point of releasing pop-country songs this year, it doesn’t seem far-fetched to see this song as a backdoor pilot should she ever wish to explore.
While SUGAREGG is filled with excellent rock songs, it’s near impossible to deny that “Every Tradition” is the record’s peak. It’s the perfect encapsulation of Bully as a vessel for Alicia Bognanno’s work. The song fights back against the patriarchy and societal expectations for women. It’s so absurdly common for people to speak down to people when they say don’t want children, that they’ll change their mind. Frustration with this sentiment is widely felt, and she pushes against it directly, summing up the feeling as being “like dissociation with every tradition.” The confidence in her voice as she rejects this pressure, and the triumph woven into the arrangement push it over the top, and the catharsis is tangible, felt even by the listener. This is a power Bully has always had. Particularly in their live shows, the sheer force behind their music acts as if to exorcise the listener of their personal demons. Perhaps it is Bognanno’s creative control at work, but for once it sounds like she’s doing the same thing to herself, and it makes the music all the better.