Hello Reader,
Welcome back. How are you feeling?
Today we’re going to delve into the band Bnny (pronounced Bunny). The origins of the band start in 2017 in Chicago, as an outlet for Jessica Viscius‘ songwriting. Bnny’s lineup has shifted over the years especially on drums. Their permanent lineup currently consists of Jessica “Jess” Viscius as the frontwoman, songwriter and vocals, Jess’ twin sister, Alexa Viscius on bass guitar, and Adam Schubert on guitar. The group is built around Jessica’s songwriting but includes familiar (Adam is also Alexa’s husband) yet talented musicians lending their skillsets to the project. Bnny released their debut studio album Everything (2021) to positive critical reviews. A lot of the songs within Everything process grief and heartbreak in Jessica’s life after the passing of her partner and Chicago based musician (of the band Parent), Trey Gruber‘s passing in 2017.
And on Friday April 5th comes Bnny’s new album, One Million Love Songs via Fire Talk Records for your listening pleasure. One Million Love Songs is more hopeful album thematically than Everything was and the bright colors on the album cover art are your first indication of a lighter theme for this album. The photograph features Jessica that was taken by Alexa who is also a graphic designer, photographer and art director while on hiking trip in Alaska. Jessica notes about the album’s construction, “I wanted to make songs that are exciting to play—songs that make me feel happy. This album is about love after loss, getting older, and just trying to have fun with a broken heart.”
Giving credit where it’s due, One Million Love Songs additional album credits:
- co-produced by Alex Farrar and recorded at Drop of Sun Studios in Asheville, NC.
And now some hype for your ears:
The warm memories and frigid location shoot for “Good Stuff”:
(All credits and rights to Fire Talk Records and Bnny)
Get ready for the earworm within, “Something Blue”:
(All credits and rights to Bnny)
To begin anew, “Changes”:
(All credits and rights to Bnny)
Overall, One Million Love Songs is a well-crafted album about Jessica Viscius’ feelings. In terms of less it’s less than 30 minutes, it’s a journey of emotions but the album goes by quickly. For perspective One Million Love Songs is nearly 10 minutes less than Bnny’s previous album, Everything. That doesn’t detract from the quality and should leave many listeners wanting more content from the band. The lyrics are extremely thoughtful and contemplative about love and relationships. The songs cover the gamut of emotions from reflective, to grateful, to sadness, to heartbreak, to contentment, to frustrated, to determined, to alluring, to longing, to loneliness, to acceptance, to ephemeral to name most of those covered within. The songs flow well from one to the next as they build off one another. The musicianship and sonic quality are stellar.
The album opens with a slow buildup of jangly guitar and birds chirping followed by breathy close to the mic vocals delivered by Viscius on the song “Missing.” Breathy in the best ways, the close delivery comes off as confidential and cozy to the ears. The lyrics are both reflective and grateful and tell of moving forward.
“Good Stuff” also has a nice melody progression, building increasingly rock forward in sound as the song plays. Viscius’ vocals are more singsong here and fit the melody and lyrics about new love but overshadowed by heartbreak remembering the warm memories.
In “Crazy, Baby” the melody is more stripped than the start of the previous song. Within this song, there are beautiful sounding guitars and drumbeat. The lyrics describe Viscius’ approach to write love songs in the moment, before it has gone. They also convey emotions like sadness, heartbreak and contentment. The color blue is mentioned which carries over to the next song.
The song, “Something Blue” features ‘the past keeps catching up’ refrain and it is an incredible earworm especially paired with how intense the melody is at those points in the song. Exquisite guitar chords that create a wall of sound. The lyrics are reflective, frustrated and determined to advance forward.
“Screaming, Dreaming” starts off with a jangly guitar that marches the melody forward. The vocals are intensely delivered creating anxious mood. The refrains within the intentionally indecisive lyrics further enhance that mood. In my opinion this was well orchestrated and executed.
In the next song, “Sweet” the melody is anchored by the back and forth of guitar and a consistent drumbeat. The melody may remind some listeners of The Velvet Underground’s self-titled album. Viscius’ vocals are delivered close to the mic at times during this song for emphasis, but she also steps back on the remainder of her deliveries. The listener will also hears some sarcasm in Viscius’ voice within alluring lyrics. The melody may remind some listeners of The Velvet Underground’s self-titled album more specifically.
“Nothing Lasts” starts with guitar strumming, followed by breathy close to the mic vocals, soft drums, then letting the guitar chords vibrate to create a nice sound wave to create a full melody. The lyrics create a deep sense of longing, but also loneliness.
The next song, “Rainbow” starts with Viscius’ breathy vocals as the instrumentation picks up in pace and volume. The melody alternates from shimmery, to subdued for Viscius’ vocals to be more prominent and other times, melody and vocals are paired in beautiful aggression. The moods and emotions created by the lyrics are at times grateful, acceptance, and also ephemeral.
“Changes” features a stripped down melody that is based on guitar and drumbeat. The vocals feature a scream of joy, and lyrics that tell of a new relationship and the renewed feelings of happiness.
In “Get it Right” the melody of guitars and drums builds until distortion from the guitar creates a wall of sound around the halfway point in the song. The lyrics seem to tell a well-worn story about relationships and as one can imagine, are disheartened.
The last song on the album, “No One,” is the shortest one as well. The melody is stripped down guitar and pairs well giving Viscius’ vocals time to shine. The lyrics tell of acceptance about her romantic state.
One Million Love Songs gets 4 out of 5 Scum Drops from me. The album is a very good album that I think will grow on the listener with repeated listens. I think it fits well into the 4 Scum Drop range especially factoring in all 2024 releases. Looking at the total length of the album, I wish it was longer, but I don’t think that extending songs would’ve been the right choice. Nor would adding more songs. I’m looking forward to more in the future from Bnny. There is outstanding sonic quality throughout the album and great musicianship by all involved. Would recommend this on any format of your choice. Add it to your collection.
One Million Love Songs Track listing (song length)
- Missing (1:55)
- Good Stuff (3:03)
- Crazy, Baby (2:18)
- Something Blue (2:42)
- Screaming, Dreaming (2:12)
- Sweet (2:22)
- Nothing Lasts (2:36)
- Rainbow (3:00)
- Changes (2:37)
- Get it Right (2:29)
- No One (1:26)
Total runtime: 26:40
I’ll always advocate that you take the time to listen to every album in its entirety. This process today will be less than half an hour from start to finish. Along the way, you’ll discover your own favorite songs without the influence or bias of others. After a few listens on my own, the songs that are highlighted in green font above are my favorite songs on this album.
To see more tour dates, merch and socials, Bnny’s website is linked right here.
Thank you 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
