Broncho- Natural Pleasure
Written by Peter Eckhardt
Broncho is Oklahoma’s foremost indie rock band. “Natural Pleasure” is their latest album, the band’s fifth and first in seven years. Indie rock is a vague term that can be used to refer to any kind of music with electric guitars that isn’t by The Rolling Stones.
In “Natural Pleasure,” Broncho pushes the boundaries of the how, if not the why, of their identity as “indie rockers.” Turning from the dancier, funkier sound found in albums like “Bad Behavior” (2017) and “Just Hip Enough to Be Woman” (2014), “Natural Pleasure” is a slower, more psychedelic album that sounds like a summer afternoon spent lying in a field.
“Natural Pleasure” opens with “Imagination,” a dreamy song that weaves its strings together and dusts them with a layer of vocalist Ryan Lindsey’s trademark fuzz. The tone for the album is set: a steady drumbeat, mellow guitars, and reverbs that shake out into infinity. Next on the tracklist is “Funny,” a song that continues Lindsey’s vocal honey-haze, guided by Nathan Price’s drums and a melodic pairing of Lindsey and Ben King’s guitars. The album keeps wandering forward through the acid-washed summer day of its contents, occasionally dipping into a river to cool off (the toned-down, less percussive “Surely”) or gaining momentum for a side quest to shake up the vibe just enough (“Original Guilt,” “Save Time.”)
Produced by Chad Copelin (who’s produced for acts like Avril Lavigne and Third Eye Blind as well as on other Broncho records), “Natural Pleasure” maintains its themes throughout. The turn from the poppier “Bad Behavior” marks a shift for the band, which, while echoing the slower “Double Vanity” (2016), moves into a more psychedelic, smoky sound. The result is a musically impressive record that can at times blend into itself. My personal favorite of the songs is “Original Guilt,” which twists the druggy flavor of the album into something more akin to M83’s “Midnight City”: wistful, reverberating, and baked. “Save Time” is another stand-out, echoing a Prohibition-feeling wariness with flavors of slow, dark jazz. Lindsey and King shine alongside bassist Penny Pitchlynn on the more classic-sounding “Think I Pass.”
For those looking for a record reminiscent of Broncho’s more popular work, “Natural Pleasure” is not the place to look. For fans of daydreams and chilling on a porch with a doobie, this is the record you’re looking for.
Natural Pleasure album cover
