Reintroducing her band as a solo project, Alicia Bognanno follows the tried-and-true: sticky hooks, shoutalong lyrics, and walloping, caffeinated riffs.
At 29, Bully’s Alicia Bognanno could teach a master class in grunge rock. She knows how to write hooks that grab you like a rip current, she was a star intern at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio, and her raspy howl could pierce metal. She’s got such a firm grasp on the part that director Alex Ross Perry asked her to write the music for the fictional ’90s rock band led by Elisabeth Moss in his 2019 film Her Smell. But Bognanno knew that something was off, that there was a block in the system, and before embarking on her third record, SUGAREGG, she addressed the personal issues that shadowed her last album, 2017’s Losing.
Her fresh start was both professional and personal. She parted ways with her bandmates and landed on the right treatment for her bipolar II, which she credits for SUGAREGG’s groundedness. Liberated from some anxiety and feelings of imposter syndrome, she was able to take a step back. SUGAREGG is the first Bully album to be engineered by someone other than Bognanno, in this case John Congleton (known for his work with Angel Olsen, Sharon Van Etten, and Moses Sumney). It’s essentially Bully’s re-introduction as a solo project, and these 12 songs capture the invigorating energy of the band’s 2015 debut.
For the most part, SUGAREGG sticks to the tried-and-true: sticky hooks, shoutalong lyrics, and walloping, caffeinated riffs. (“Oh yeah, I just wanted to pick up the tempo,” Bognanno ad-libs at the beginning of one song.) It’s the sort of album that can inject a jolt of adrenaline into even the most spudly couch potato. Unlike its predecessor, SUGARGEGG has moments of genuine musical levity, even if the subject matter retains its heaviness. The lethargic “Prism” is a sun-streaked daydream tinged by lingering memories of pain; “Where to Start” turns frustration with a partner into jangly rocket fuel. (Bognanno told Rolling Stone that the melody was inspired by Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping.”)
Bognanno’s songwriting has always been personal, but here she digs deeper. On “Like Fire,” she illustrates the ups and downs of bipolar disorder, especially the overwhelming, disruptive bouts of euphoria. The bouncy “Every Tradition” rejects the biological and social roles (parenthood, marriage) impressed upon women, describing these expectations as dissociative. “Something’s off, you’re wrong about the dream/And I’ve been fucking up/Wasting my time second-guessing what I need,” she proclaims over a blast of noise. The thoughts that run through her mind in the bass-heavy “Stuck in Your Head” are earnest in their desire for clarity: “I wanna be in touch/Feel a little less disconnected/Without the crutch.”
Uncertainty reappears over and over on SUGAREGG; “I don’t know where to start,” “I don’t know what I wanted,” and “don’t know what you wanted” are common refrains. But whether she is addressing an absent parent or giving up on the exhausting emotional rollercoaster of a relationship, by acknowledging that she doesn’t know all the answers or reasons, Bognanno learns to loosen her grip. “I’m not angry anymore,” she sings on the smoldering “Hours and Hours.” “I’m not holding on to that.”
Midway through the album, on “Come Down,” Bognanno offers loving advice, maybe to herself, maybe to someone else: “I hope you come to realize your worth/Tired devotion, passion is a curse.” Delivered over a mid-tempo melody and punctuated by the barking of her dog, Mezzi, there’s little noise to distract from the message: Self-love can be life-changing. SUGAREGG’s confidence and candor suggest that Bognanno is taking those words to heart.
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