Hello Reader,
Welcome back to SWT.
Full disclosure: We were not compensated for our thoughts; all thoughts are entirely my own.
Musician Afie Jurvanen has been active in the music scene for over two decades. At first the Canadian of Finnish heritage was in local bands in Canada’s 35th most populous city, Barrie in his late teens, then to the prominent metropolis, Toronto in his early 20s. A few years later, going by the artist name, Bahamas, Jurvanen put out his first studio album Pink Strat (2009). It was with that album that he begun a journey as a Juno Award mainstay. Pink Strat received critical appreciation including a Juno Award nomination for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year – Solo. Bahamas second album, Barchords (2012) received several Juno Award nominations, including Adult Alternative Album of the Year and Songwriter of the Year for the songs, “Be My Witness,” “Caught Me Thinking,” and “Lost in the Light.” On his third album, Bahamas is Alfie (2014) Jurvanen won the Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year and won the Juno Award for Songwriter of the Year for “All the Time,” “Bitter Memories,” and “Stronger Than That.” Bahamas next release, Earthtones (2018) won the Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year and was one of five albums nominated at the 2019 Grammy Awards, for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical and the exceptional video for the song, “No Depression” won its Director and Puppeter, Ali J Eisner, the Juno Award for Video of the Year. His fifth album, Sad Hunk (2020) won the Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year.
On September 15th 2023, Bahamas released a new album on Brushfire Records titled, BOOTCUT. Recorded at Nashville’s Sound Emporium by Grammy-nominated producer Robbie Lackritz (nominated for the Bahamas album, Earthtones in 2019), along with producer and multi-instrumentalist (guitar on this album), Dan Knobler. Joining Jurvanen on BOOTCUT are a who’s who of musicians. Renowned guitarist Vince Gill and acclaimed pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl who is a well-known session musician in Nashville’s scene, revered bassist Dave Roe (Rest in Peace), and the go to guy among harmonica players for five decades, Mickey Raphael. Also lending a hand on the album, progressive bluegrass genre originator and mandolin savant Sam Bush, keyboardist Jen Gunderman (also an Assistant Professor of Musicology at Vanderbilt), and drummer Jon Radford. Perhaps the title is a homage to the area it was recorded in, a common style of clothing.
Five, hype videos incoming.
The lyric video with some blast from the past footage, “Working on My Guitar”:
(All credits and rights to Bahamas)
(All credits and rights to Bahamas)
Cue the slow, twang, “Somebody Just Like Me”:
(All credits and rights to Bahamas)
Another chance? “Second Time Around”:
(All credits and rights to Bahamas)
The travel adventure video, “Into The Unknown”:
(All credits and rights to Bahamas)
About BOOTCUT, Jurvanen says, “I just love the way that you can explore ideas in a real literal way, and I’m not saying you can’t do that in rock music, but sometimes if you’re too on the nose, it’s just cheesy. Whereas country music sort of welcomes that…it’s like, ‘tell me the whole story!’ So it was nice to be allowed to do that as a writer.”
Overall, the all-star cast of musicians help Bahamas fully form an album with footing in the country genre. Kudos to the talents and efforts not limited to the solos. Despite song after song with a country sounding melody, this isn’t a concept album. There is plenty of room within songs for deviation from that sound, for exploration and the ability for Jurvanen to add his own style into songs. And he does. Songs such as “I’m Still,” and “Gone Girl Gone,” remind the listener of previous Bahamas albums from different genres. As a listener I appreciate the boldness of variety and imparting your own style. From song to song, songwriting continues to be a strength. Jurvanen turns ordinary observations into works of art. Sonically this album is top notch.
The opening song of BOOTCUT,”Girls Bugging Me” is literally his daughters talking to Jurvanen before he strums and sings a few lines. The last lines he speaks is, “Alright, greatness will have to wait.”
The next song, “Just A Song,” has Bahamas reflecting and undergoing some writer’s block, then describing the song making process, over some well-placed and played pedal steel guitar. The chorus before and after the pedal steel guitar, really brings the lyrics together, driving them home. I hear the third song, “Working On My Guitar,” and I think practice, practice, practice throughout the day. Bahamas displays a nice vocal range coupled with a memorable melody of pedal steel guitar, percussion and synth.
Song four, “I’m Still,” is a funky jam with danceable grooves to my ears. It also has catchy refrains from Bahamas with great vocal delivery, and some fabulous bass and electric guitar solos. Lyrically, there is a degree of frustration but also a degree of acceptance and positivity.
“Somebody Just Like Me,” is a sonic switch up. This slow burner is twang heavy. A great one to slow dance to. Lyrically the song is about affirmation of oneself. Maybe a bit too much confidence and not enough self-reflection. The next song continues a slow burn melody. “Second Time Around,” is a song about introspection and reflection within one’s love life. This song’s instrumentation especially the percussion and pedal steel guitar really make this song a beauty.
The seventh song on BOOTCUT, “Into The Unknown,” guitar and pedal steel guitar intro before Bahamas vocals truly shine. The backing vocals add another layer to Bahamas own range and create an earworm as you listen. The lyrics are a sweet examination of love.
The next song, “Sports Car,” lyrics about Afie himself as a child, then as an adult. And his relationship with his parents. Backing vocals make a wonderful pairing with Bahamas own vocal range. The melody again features some well-timed pedal steel guitar and percussion.
“The Only One,” is reflective. Lyrically, I think it ends up a lovely tribute. It definitely attempts to be. Vocals are sung in a sweet manner by Bahamas. Some standout Mandolin by Sam Bush.
Song ten on BOOTCUT, “Gone Girl Gone,” kicks off with keys. A slight departure from the twang a couple of songs ago. Beat is much quicker. Lyrically a song about the past infatuation that has him frustrated both back then and upon reflection in the present day. Towards the end of the song, Bahamas really puts a lot into the vocals to delivery his final lyrics with gusto. Melodically there’s a fantastic harmonica solo from Raphael.
The final song, “Nothing Blows My Mind,” features reflective, forlorn lyrics. The way the musical instrumentation joins and peaks with the vocal delivery is quite exquisite. Piano and pedal steel creating sadness. Seems like a perfect way to end this album.
BOOTCUT gets a 4 of 5 Scum Drops from me. BOOTCUT is a very good album. Bahamas ventured down from Toronto to Nashville with purpose, to record with an amazing lineup of country artists to create an album with a lot of Bahamas’ own style. This is definitely not a concept album. This album fits within their discography. Great songwriting by Jurvanen really shines from song to song. It is of fantastic sonic quality. I’d recommend this album. Add it to your collection.
BOOTCUT track list (song time)
- Girls Bugging Me (0:54)
- Just A Song (3:56)
- Working On My Guitar (3:14)
- I’m Still (5:29)
- Somebody Just Like Me (2:33)
- Second Time Around (2:50)
- Into The Unknown (2:48)
- Sports Car (4:09)
- The Only One (3:51)
- Gone Girl Gone (3:47)
- Nothing Blows My Mind (4:00)
total run time 37:30
Website with show info, all the socials and a good amount of merch including but not limited to music: https://bahamasmusic.net/
Thanks for reading and supporting good music.
Until next time,
Alex
Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site: scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions!
Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com
