Traffic sucks, so why not start your morning off with some music? You provide the toast and we’ll provide the jams.
The first time I heard Bonny Doon was sometime in 2014, when they had put out there first 7”, and it has this song called “Blood In The Bathtub” that, after I initially heard it, crawled into my head and lived there for a week. It really set the table, I think, for their new full-length, named after the song included here.
It’s a sublime effort, really. I wouldn’t know if they listen to Silver Jews, but the new record captures all the sensibility of David Berman’s songwriting—minimal but absolutely infectious—and the spirit of Neil Young. Each song is a unique, lovely ride, and all together it’s a wonderful production.
One of the first times I saw Bonny Doon was, I believe, in 2014 at this bar down the street from my old apartment in Detroit, and—this’ll sound silly, and almost certainly will to them—couldn’t help but feel a tinge of pride to live in a city that produced such a great band. I remember imploring the music editor of the news outlet I was with at the time to write about them, and he concluded much of the same: their songs are remarkably catchy and memorable.
Now they’re on a bigger stage and this summer they’ll be touring with Band Of Horses. Listen to this album and catch one of those shows, if you can.