by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Buni Hate Mail's new EP sounds something like hanging out with an old friend. It's comforting and intimate, but it's also casual, saying just enough without the need to over indulge. Having relocated from Pleasantville, NY to Brooklyn and expanded from a trio to a quartet, the band are still finding their footing, but A, their sophomore EP, is as confident as the come, a gentle album that isn't afraid to get noisy. Built around the songwriting of Jianna Bennetti (guitar/vocals), Buni Hate Mail's twist between twee mentality and muscular fuzz, adopting just enough distortion to punctuate the heart and emotion of Bennetti's lyrics.
A opens with "Bed," a twitchy pop song that will have you wishing you were still under the covers, a slow meditation that shifts in time, offering nuances that feel natural, expanding as the days evolve. The band specialize in quick impulsive decisions, adding bits of Bennetti and Ben Scherer's fuzzy guitar texture here and there, coloring between the song's otherwise skeletal focus. While "Burner" moves with a twangy haze, "You From My Dream," opts for a brisk pop-gold sheen, as dreamy as can be. Tim Sosler (drums) and Sam Mintzer (bass) offer a steady pulse, a driving warble that allows the drift to settle firmly on the guitars and Bennetti's lulling vocals. "Ring," the EP's closer could just be it's finest moment. It's sparse and intimate, but deceptive in sweetness. There's something pretty heartbreaking as Bennetti sings "oh, thank god, I don't got what you got" but the sweeping composition still feels like a glimmer of hope, fashion statement pants and all.
Buni Hate Mail's A is out today on cassette and digitally via Bandcamp.