Each week during Left of the Dial, KUTX Music Director, Rick McNulty shares the best song he heard this week.
Bonny Doon’s 2018 record Long Wave felt like it picked up where Silver Jews left off with its subdued sadness and unforgettable lyrics. Songwriting duo Bill Lennox and Bobby Colombo’s brand of alt-country is a little more verdant with brighter vocals than the late Berman’s half-sung baritone. Still, they’re among the few that deserve any comparison. Five years later, Detroit’s Bonny Doon finally returns with a surprising but nonetheless welcome optimism on Let There Be Music.
In the time between their last two records, you may have been introduced to Bonny Doon without knowing it. Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield recruited the trio as her backing band on tour and to record on 2020’s Saint Cloud. Perhaps with a few notes from Saint Cloud’s delicate Americana, Bonny Doon’s reemergence is filled with similar subtle beauty. Their wistful music wrestles with their hopeful lyrics, but that dissonance is its strength. Rather than vapid positivity, it’s simply gratitude for life itself–ups and downs included.
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“Bonny Doon’s reemergence is filled with subtle beauty.”
-Ryan Wen
