Local Review: BONNEVILLE – Another Flower

BONNEVILLE
Another Flower
Street: 07.20
Self-Released
Bonneville = Elliott Smith + Pinegrove

Shimmering reflections and slow dancing with the lights off. A well-timed breeze on a hot summer night when your A/C is out. Listening through Bonneville’s commendable debut release, Another Flower is comparable to no less than the epitome of hazy summer nights spent with friends; it does a wonderful job of forcing the listener to reminisce on the memories that often come with them.

The band’s sound can be likened to a kind of Elliott Smith-ish vibe with their own Kilby-core twist; a slow and emotionally-charged ride through twinkling guitar riffs and shoegaze-y ambient sections. Much like many of their Utah-based contemporaries, Bonneville’s use of sped-down alternative rock tropes combined with their own unique musical quirks mix quite nicely into a thought provoking experience while the more ambient sections of the album (songs like “Groves” and “Chrysanthemum”) simultaneously provide the listener with a safe space to relax and unwind. 

Full disclosure, my first time listening through the album I anticipated a kind of sonic flow from song to song that would go beyond lyrical story-telling. While I couldn’t really pick up a drastic change of movement from song to song, the placement of each track just feels right. The ambient breaks that sit between every couple songs really solidify the album’s thematic objective as a pleasantly lightheaded hang-out with good friends.

If I had to name a favorite track, I’d probably end up going with “Flora.” While it’s not the most complex or developed song on the album, it feels unique/separate from the rest of the tracks in terms of where it takes your mind. While that separate-ness isn’t typically something that sounds like a plus in terms of how an album comes together, Bonneville managed to pull it off. Somehow the one-ness of “Flora” enhances the overall unity of the rest of the tracks.

If you enjoy Elliot Smith or frequent Kilby Court, definitely swing by Bonneville’s instagram @band_bonneville and their Bandcamp to give them their flowers (no pun intended)—they certainly deserve them. –CJ Hanck

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