Album Review: Bnny - 'One Million Love Songs'
Bnny make their return with a thrilling, satisfying new record One Million Love Songs.
Chicago’s indie-rock band Bnny are back with a magnificent new record, One Million Love Songs, and it’s an album that will stay with you long after listening.
The band, led by Jess Viscius, (also made up of her twin sister Alexa, Adam Schubert on guitar, and a ‘revolving’ drummer) released their debut full length album Everything in 2021, and was met by positive reviews. One Million Love Songs will most likely follow in its footsteps.
Missing is the intro track and opens the album perfectly. With thick electric guitar, it’s sprawling and beautiful. “Time is a strange thing/Forgotten a lot, but I remember some things” Viscius sings.
A clear highlight and one of the sings released, Good Stuff is simply a perfect track. Drums with heavy reverb come in, making everything feel poignant. “I still remember the first time you said you love me/Texting me at 2am from across the country” She opens the track. The production is huge and flawless, starting slow then picking up during the chorus, with layers of electric guitar you can get lost in. It’s dreamy, and makes you feel nostalgic for something unidentified. “I’m hanging onto the good stuff/I’m hanging onto my big love” She informs us. The song feels hopeful, and it’s very much needed.
Crazy, Baby follows, also a single. It’s kind of tongue-in-cheek, but self-deprecating at the same time. “I’m crazy, baby, I thought you knew” She sings, and goes on to say how she was ‘born blue’. There’s fuzzy guitars and great production once again, but this track has ever so slightly sadder undertones.
Something Blue is next, a great track, and yes, also a single. It’s a song about the past, trying to escape it, and ultimately feeling like everything is futile. The bass is fun and playful. “Don’t look back, that’s what he said/But I’m looking back, I’m looking back again” Viscius delivers. She sounds resigned to her fate throughout the song, and there’s something freeing in that. “I’m running from the past/But the past keeps catching up”. I think it would be fantastic live.
Sweet and Nothing Lasts are both enjoyable tracks, cynical, gentle, and slightly sinister.
Another highlight on the album is Rainbow. A song that has so much emotion in it you can almost actually feel it, like a physical object. With stunning, ethereal vocals and a tone that’s angelic and other-worldly, it will stop you in your tracks. “I’ve got a rainbow on a rainy day/But the past keeps getting in the way” Viscius sings dreamily. It’s about learning how to go about loving again after loss and heartbreak and is just incredibly moving.
On the making of the album, Viscius said: “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.”
She managed to capture all of that perfectly.
Although the record is short when it comes to song length, it doesn’t feel lacking or incomplete in any way at all. In fact, quite the opposite, after listening, I came away feeling fulfilled and like I’d gained something.
One Million Love Songs is an album that should be on everybody’s radar, and Bnny are a band we should all be excited about.
Words by Lucy Skeet
