The Bonus Round is a band that recently released Reconnections. The album contains seven songs which are rock based and actually reminded me a lot of music that was coming out in the ’90s.
They get going with “Ride The Sky” which has a tinge of Americana, grunge and rock. The guitars are fuzzy, the beat drives in 4/4 and the bass work, which I thought was really well done, is dynamic and varied. The vocals are also well delivered. It's straightforward with memorable melodies and an accessible quality. Overall, I thought this was one of the highlights. “Into The Night” is a little more punk infused. There are palm muted chords, some solid lead guitar and a wild energy. The band isn’t always in the pocket here but you could argue that is some of the charm. They have more success with “Cakewalk” which revolves around fuzzy major and minor chords and a good amount of spirit. There’s a section around the one-minute- and-thirty-second mark that I really thought was a high point. It sounds like there are orchestral strings which I was hoping to hear more of on the album. “Let go” has a hard time locking onto a groove and feeling a bit wild. The song reminded me of early Sonic Youth. It’s unfiltered and often feels like it’s being ripped apart at the seams. The song grew on me more and more as it progressed. “The Haunting” has a memorable hook while “Why do we divide” is a visceral punk anthem of sorts. “Why do we divide” contains some solid vocal harmonies and also has hints of bands like The Melvins and The Pixies. “Look Away” has a different quality than the previous song. The orchestral sounding strings are back and this song is more a soundscape. It’s also more introspective and felt like a cool way to end the album. As an engineer myself my only critique is I wanted a little more fidelity at points. With this type of music you can get away with lo-fi and it actually fits quite well but ten to fifteen percent more clarity could have helped with some of the dynamics. The Bonus Round isn’t reinventing the wheel but they can rock out and deliver a memorable song. To my ears these are songs that are best experienced live from the energy I was getting but they definitely capture the spirit as well as their talent. Hopefully, this is just the beginning and I hope to hear more from the band in the not too distant future.
1 Comment
Winston
10/24/2022 05:11:59 pm
The song 'let go' really had me rocking. I think they're from Seattle. Great album.
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