Stop what you're doing. Take a moment to relax with this one. If you're a fan of the current wave of alt-country, NPR Americana, chilled-out heartland rock, indie dad rock, or whatever else you want to call it, you gotta check out "Lucky Ones" by Bonny Doon.
You may be familiar with the Detroit band from their many years of service in the indie rock trenches, or for their stint as Katie Crutchfield's Saint Cloud backing band, helping to usher in Waxahatchee's alt-country era. If not, it's time to tap in with Forever Green, their new album coming in February on ANTI-.
Bonny Doon mostly made the album in Arizona with Austin Owen and Francis Bartolomeo. It also has the band's 2024 single "Clock Keeps Ticking," produced by Sam Cohen, and Kevin Basko handled some additional recording. The immaculately downtrodden "Lucky Ones" is a great introduction (or reintroduction) to the band, marked by Bill Lennox's tender, plaintive vocals and a dazzling array of guitars. "I wonder how it feels to be one of the lucky ones," he sings on the chorus, between bouts of exquisite slide guitar that carry upward like prayers.
A word from Lennox:
Most people scrape by and can barely afford to live despite working their ass off. Meanwhile the rich get richer and those in power are doing everything they can to suppress the rights and dignity of working-class people. It’s kind of a culmination of grievance and frustration both personal and collective. In my case, 12 years into a band, 12 years older, still bartending until 3am, the body doesn’t recover like it used to. You can sometimes feel like your dues have been paid, and you’re waiting on something to get easier or fall into place. I know a lot of people that feel like that.
Listen below.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Cry With Me"
02 "Sliding Glass Door"
03 "Lucky Ones"
04 "So Close To The Edge"
05 "Clock Keeps Ticking"
06 "Right In The Eye"
07 "All Of My"
08 "Forever Green"
09 "End Of The Line"
10 "Long Have You Wandered"
TOUR DATES:
02/16 – Ferndale, MI @ Magic Bag
02/17 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
02/19 – Washington DC - DC9
02/20 – Ridgewood, NY @ TV Eye
03/02 – Seattle, WA @ Bottlerocket Social Hall
03/03 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
03/05 – San Francisco, CA @ Kilowatt
03/06 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
Forever Green is out 2/5 on ANTI-. Pre-order it here.
