BULLY – Lucky For You (Sub Pop Loser Edition) – LP – Blue Curacao Vinyl

LP – Limited Sub Pop ‘ Loser Edition’ (first pressing only) onBlue Curacao Vinyl.

Lucky For You is Bullys most close-to-the-bone album yet. Its an album thats searing and unmistakably marked by its creators experiences, while still retaining the massive sound that Alicia Bognanno has become known for over the last decade. Her fourth album draws from personal pain and the universal struggle that is existing, learning, and moving onand its all soundtracked by Bognannos rock-solid melodic sensibilities and a widescreen sound thats impossible to pin down when it comes to the textures explored. These ten songs are simply the most irresistible Bognannos put to tape yet, making Lucky For You her greatest triumph to date in a career already packed with them.

Work on Lucky For You began last year, when Bognanno brought some in-progress demos to producer J.T. Daly in his Nashville studio to see if they could strike creative kismet. Authenticity is always on my mind, without even knowing it, she explains while discussing their recording process together. It was great with J.T., because I could tell he was a genuine fan who wanted to emphasize whats actually good about my writing instead of changing it. I could tell how much he cared about the project, and it meant alot to me. The album came together over the course of seven months, the longest gestation process for a Bully record to date, but that time allowed inspiration to emerge in new ways.

The result is a kaleidoscopic rock record spanning punks grit, the crunchy bliss of shoegaze, explosive Britpop, and the type of classic anthems Bully has been known for. Lucky For Yous thematic focus zooms in on grief and loss: The record is largely inspired by Bognannos dog and best friend Mezzi passing away, at a time when her life already felt as if in metamorphosis. The oceanic first single Days Move Slow was written shortly after Mezzis passing, reflecting the persistence of Bognannos incisive wit in the face of adversity. There was nothing I could do except sit down and write it, and it felt so good. And then theres the passionate opening track All I Do, which kicks in the door with huge riffs atop her lyrical reflections on three years of sobriety. Once I stopped drinking, I felt like I was still haunted by mistakes and things that had happened when I was drinking, and its still taking me a long time to forget about that while existing in this house. How do I shed the skin from a path Ive moved on from?

In that vein, Lucky For You is a document of perseverance in the face of the big and the small stuff. Im so overly emotional and sensitive, its a blessing and a curse she says with a laugh, but theres no downside to her expressions of vulnerability on this record; its the latest bit of evidence that nothing can hold Bognanno back.

Tracklist:

1. All I Do
2. Days Move Slow
3. A Wonderful Life
4. Hard to Love
5. Change Your Mind
6. How Will I Know
7. A Love Profound
8. Lose You (feat. Soccer Mommy)
9. Ms. America
10. All This Noise