Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week, we have a collection of songs put together by Brooklyn-based artist Blair Howerton of Why Bonnie.
Why Bonnie released their sophomore LP Wish On The Bone last week, marking an explosive step forward for the Brooklyn-based group. Two years since their country-tinged, sun-soaked release of 90 in November, Blair, along with mates Chance Williams (bass) and Josh Malett (drums), have spent that time building on their strengths to blend a collage of new sonic voicings that only enhance Blair’s dynamic vocals and instinctively holistic and sharp lyricism. Through maturing stories of trust and curiosity, its a record that refuses to feel lethargic as the summer heat takes one last swing, making Wish On The Bone an exciting reminder that there is always a path forward in moments of little hope.
To celebrate the album’s release, Blair curated a playlist for your listening enjoyment!
Every Friday, a staff member at the ugly hug curates a list of their five favorite new(ish) releases to share with us all. This week, our photographer, Will, put together a list of distorted hugs, tin can stunners and loveable bedroom pop tunes.
“Angel Like You” by Nick Harley
In what has quickly become one of my favorite albums of the year, Nashville-based Nick Harley delivers a perfect blend of Appalachian folk and low-fi indie. “Angel Like You” introduces the album with melancholic nostalgia with a simple instrumentation, just a couple of well-picked guitars, and some drums. The sentimental songwriting, about the purity and optimism of the beginnings of love, is captured on the warm fuzz of analog recording. The entire album creates the ideal soundtrack for driving through the Appalachian mountains after a spring rainstorm. For now, I’m settling for a post-rain walk on the streets of New York, and it’s just as good for that.
“Gulf Shores” by Merce Lemon, Colin Miller
Continuing with artists hailing from Appalachia, “Gulf Shores” by Pittsburgh-based Merce Lemon and Asheville’s Colin Miller has been a part of my rotation since its release in January. One of two covers by Will Oldham (who I only recently really dove into the discography of, and it’s a must listen to for fans of Songs Ohia, MJ Lenderman, etc.) and the song is truly done justice. A beautiful and melancholic song, sonically and lyrically, Miller takes the lead of the duet with the floating sounds of steel guitar (my absolute favorite instrument) behind him.
“Dotted Line” by Why Bonnie
Their first single after signing to Fire Talk, “Dotted Line”, proves Houston’s (now Brooklyn’s) Why Bonnie, led by Blair Howerton, has picked up right where she left off. The single maintains the grit of the band’s past work, rounded out with a more polished sound. The song juxtaposes the all too common frustrations of making music as an indie musician over an energetic instrumentation. After getting the chance to catch their live show at Baby’s All Right this month, their upcoming album is definitely something to keep an eye out for.
“Julia” by Crate
New York’s Crate has a single line description on Bandcamp; “like a warm hug”. This description rings true with their debut single “Julia”. After a slow build of synth and drums for almost a minute and a half, it comes crashing down when the guitars come in, and you are enveloped in a sea of warm distortion. After being lucky enough to see them open for A Country Western at Trans Pecos, I was blown away by their sound and can safely say it’s one that is only better live. Here’s to hoping that more music is coming on the way from them soon!
“Trudy” by One Wheel Fireworks Show
To finish on a sadder note, Ashville’s Will Cole, releasing music under the title One Wheel Fireworks Show, delivers a full album of songs as devastating as they are beautiful. “Trudy”, a tribute to the all too relatable despair of an aging dog, the song’s namesake also being who the album is partially dedicated to, and just might be the best of both. Cole sings softly over a steady hum of fuzz with a single guitar before a short slide guitar solo finishes the song. The song reads like a page from a diary with its heartfelt sincerity which is driven home by a minute of audio clips about dogs and Asheville that extends the melancholic feeling of the track.
“I think, when it comes down to it, people get into three things as they grow up,” Blair Howerton proclaimed from the stage at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall. In no particular order, she lists out, “sports, birdwatching, or spirituality”. This odd, yet endearing list sparked some chuckles from the audience, then comically rang more true to a lot of people as murmurs like, “holy shit, I just got into birdwatching,” spread throughout the packed hall.
Blair Howerton fronts the Austin/Brooklyn band Why Bonnie. Following the release of their critically acclaimed 2022 debut full-length, 90 in November, an album that defined a childhood spent growing up in Texas, the band looks to ride this momentum forward. Gearing up to announce their next album, Why Bonnie doesn’t hold on to much of the past anymore as they try to shape the future and find steady ground in these trying times. I recently got to chat with Blair Howerton in the midst of this transition period, opening up about where she is at in life, including her own roaming spirituality, a new era of the band, and what the next Why Bonnie album is shaping up to be.
With their second album not yet announced, Why Bonnie took advantage of this most recent supporting tour, with S.G. Goodman, to showcase a lot of the new material. With notable themes revolving around money frustrations, growing/diminishing empathy, and systematic uneasiness, Howerton shares, “I was really interested in the relationship between micro and macro issues and how that kind of plays out in our personal lives.” To the effect in which large issues can bleed down to simple and communally felt points of discomfort, Howerton’s storytelling remains as vivid and authentic as ever through this shift of focus. For as much as 90 in November found a personal home in Austin, Texas, this next Why Bonnie project is a bit more dissociated. Since having moved to Brooklyn, Howerton expresses, “you’re all kind of living on top of each other, so you can’t escape, and you can’t really turn a blind eye, which I think is a really cool thing. It’s definitely a lesson in empathy.” Where this environment has led creatively, she shares, “this is a much more inward looking album. I think it’s bigger than just where I’m at. I think it’s trying to reach everyone.”
Voicing from the Lincoln Hall stage that night, Howerton remarks that she has begun to reassess her personal spirituality, which is a focus point in some of the new songs. Without putting a label on it, she adds, “I’m a very imaginative person, so I like to believe that there’s something else, and that there is something somewhat magical going on.” Although she’s not committed to anything in particular, there can come a sense of comfort when uncertainties are given possible answers. “I have a puny little human brain. We all do, and no one knows anything, and that makes it all that much more interesting.” That’s kind of where Why Bonnie is at these days; “what’s my place in this world,” a considerate and mature question, doesn’t hold the weight it once had.
As Why Bonnie plans out the next few months, the band finds themselves down a player. Kendall Powell, who has played keys with the band since its formation, has taken a personal step back. “We’ve been playing music together for 6 or 7 years, and have been best friends since we were 2. She’ll always be in my life,” Howerton responds when asked how she has adapted to this change. You will still be able to find Powell’s work on the new Why Bonnie project, as “the new album has a lot of great synth on it. We haven’t gotten to show it in our live set yet, but I’m really excited for everyone to hear it,” she shares. As the band looks forward, “we’re moving into a new era, if you will,” Howerton claims. “We don’t exactly know what the future looks like, but we’re just happy to play music together and tour together. It brings us all a lot of joy.”
“Going back to spirituality,” Howerton relays, “something I’ve really been thinking about a lot is just how deeply similar people really are; how we experience a lot of the same emotions. Maybe different situations, but the way we feel them is all really similar.” This is not only true through unfortunate and systematic commonalities, but it’s also why “sports, birdwatching, or spirituality” is such a genuinely accurate statement. With found joy, communal support, and empathy, suddenly something as simple as stopping to watch a bird or being part of a team offers some sort of confident placement in such a despondent world. As Why Bonnie prepares to move forward, Howerton remains assured, as she voices, “I wrote this new album from a place of, I don’t want to say despair, but just really grappling with all these issues in the world and how to stay hopeful when it’s really hard to be.”
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