Alicia Bognanno knows that you cry while listening to the new record from her band, Bully. But she still wants you to come to her show and dance your ass off—it’s for your own good.
“It’s not like a party vibe—it’s definitely like a form of therapy,” said Bognanno over the phone from somewhere in Colorado as she made her way cross country on tour. “It’s an emotional thing, but hopefully at the same time, it’s cathartic, you know?”
And don’t worry, you’re not the only one crying and dancing. Bognanno is doing it, too. The new album, Lucky for You, which came out June 2 on Sub Pop, is a grunge-driven meditation on the grief she faced after the loss of her beloved dog, Mezzi. The album’s first single “Days Move Slow” distills loss into lines like “I’m living in the same black hole/But there’s flowers on your grave that grow/Somethings gotta change, I know.”
It’s dark and melancholy, but thanks to its textural noise and expansive melody, you still will want to bop your head to it. Besides, according to Bognanno, it’s not even the saddest song on the album.
“I think that ‘Days Move Slow’ is more of like a middle finger to grief as opposed to ‘A Wonderful Life,’ which is just like all pain,” she said. “I get asked a lot if [this album is] difficult for me to play. And the answer’s yes, absolutely, but it’s cathartic. I don’t really know how that works or why it is, but everything almost just feels like a kind of more of celebration of Mezzi. Like it’s all in her honor. So it feels really good to be able to have that 10-song love letter to her and celebrate her and think about her night after night, because I already do that anyway.”
The 10 songs that make up this love letter to her pup are searing and vulnerable, but if you’re one of those weirdos who doesn’t listen to the lyrics, you’ll be forgiven for not recognizing that. The songs are still very much Bully tunes, after all—massive, grungy, and dynamic. However, on Lucky for You, the band has evolved from some of the ’90s alt-rock vibes that were the hallmark of Bully’s earlier music. Made with the help of Nashville-based producer JT Daly, Lucky for You shows Bully has grown into a mature jaggedly art rock band. Their sound wallops you on its way out of the speakers and then tickles your imagination with its gorgeous layers. A few notes in and your bobbing your head to songs about death. (Seriously, listen to “Lose You” the Bully track featuring Soccer Mommy and try not to bob your head at least a little bit.)
“Trying new things and putting yourself out there in ways that you haven’t before, that’s how I feel musicians evolve—by taking chances, because that’s how you get perspective,” said Bognanno. “When you’re doing the same thing over and over again, there’s not too much that you’re learning from it.”
Recreating the studio album’s massive sound on the road required a lot of learning, too, including months of time spent behind the scenes perfecting the roadshow. “Bigger bands have an MD, a music director, somebody whose job it is to divvy up the parts and help the players figure out how to execute it, but I don’t,” she said. “Bully is not a massive band, so it’s just me doing all of that. It’s good to be challenged in that way, learning how to execute something completely new. It’s fun. I’m not sure I would have been able to do it had I continued to drink, especially playing live, because I just have many, many more things that I need to think about.”
In addition to the time spent figuring out how to translate an album into a live concert, Bully’s growing sound also requires a lot more equipment that needs to be schlepped from show to show. “With this record, there’s just an insane amount of gear and responsibility than I’ve ever had, on any record,” Bognanno said. “We just have so many more guitar pedals and we’ve got some samplers and a Mellotron onstage.”
After spending months reeling from the loss of her beloved pet, writing and recording a challenging new album, and then prepping for a cross-country tour, Bognanno is ready to rumble. “You know, we all work asses off to be able to do this,” she said. “We’re just trying our best and I think that maybe other people could appreciate that.”
The least you can do is show up to the Bully show ready to cry and dance and get some free therapy.
Bully plays the Neptune Theatre Fri Aug 18, 8 pm, $22.50, all ages.
