[dream-pop] (2020) Why Bonnie - Voice Box EP [FLAC] [DarkAngie]

(2020) Why Bonnie - Voice Box EP

Review:
Gauzy dream pop has made a nice little renaissance for itself over the past few years, to which this reviewer, who wrapped himself in its progenitors’ plush layers during his formative years, offers a hearty “Huzzah!” Of course, the flip side of this is the droves of like-sounding bands proffering this sound that is, admittedly, ripe for accusations of peddling nostalgia. Austin, Texas quartet Why Bonnie started out as one of those bands, offering perfectly fine and wistful shoegazey fare across their first pair of EPs. Their third, Voice Box, however, breaks the band from this mold. While lead track, “Bury Me”, fits squarely in the dream pop aesthetic, its production is sweeping and cinematic, country miles beyond the band’s previous work. Furthermore, the title track’s concretizing a woman’s voice as her literal voice box to illustrate frustration with expression lends the proceedings a welcome depth typically absent from a sound known more for its style over substance. While thematically, “Voice Box” is the spoke around which the entire EP revolves, the heady whiplash pairing of “Athlete”s skulking, vampirish dissonance followed by “Jetplane”s diaphanous fingerpicking are the prime exhibits of Why Bonnie’s growth. Pulling elements from their bread and butter and pushing them toward their boundaries elevates Voice Box above merely enjoyable dream pop.

Tracklist:
1. Bury Me (04:18)
2. Voice Box (04:51)
3. Athlete (03:11)
4. Jetplane (02:59)
5. No Caves (04:23)


Media Report:
Genre: dream-pop
Source: CD
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits