Bully are cool as hell. They sound like how you felt when you were 14, so full of energy and attitude. I’m a sucker for anything snotty and, man, does this deliver. ‘Feels Like’ is their debut record and it absolutely justifies all the hype surrounding it.
Alicia Bognanno’s voice is perfect, so snotty and so pissed off and, without it, I’m not certain the record would hold up as much as it does. She just gives the album such a resounding energy and her delivery exudes confidence, it’s something really special. Also, not only did she absolutely slay the guitar and nail every vocal, Bognanno also wrote, produced and engineered the whole record as well. Shit, man.
Opener ‘I Remember’ is a statement of intent and is probably the standout song of the record. That’s not to say the rest fails to deliver, it’s more that this is such a banger. The lo-fi vocals match the straining drums and jerky guitar so perfectly and it sounds just like the garage band you always wanted to be in and every party you saw in American movies that you wanted to go to. ‘Trying’ grooves along with the bass leading whilst the guitar keeps it simple. Bognanno’s delivery on the chorus is incredible and this song will haunt you for days. ‘Trash’ starts off slow and grungy and slowly crumbles into a distorted, crashing mess whilst Bognanno yells over the top of it all. ‘Milkman’ makes you want to jump on a motorbike (even though you can’t even ride a bike) and drive to some shitty bar and drink whiskey and smoke cigarettes (even though your mum would kill you. Hi, Mum).
This album just makes you wanna do something, which is pretty much the biggest compliment any piece of art can be paid, I think. If you listen to something and it stirs you so much that you then want to go out and do things and experience the world and you’re excited about something, then it has done its job…right? Bully do this. Bully make you wanna stay out late and get terrible tattoos from your stupid friends and run around without a care in the world. It’s so refreshing to see a band get snotty as they can. I hope they keep this up.
CONOR MACKIE