Why Bonnie Create With No Limits and Imagine Every Scenario on Wish on the Bone
The NYC-via-Texas trio give themselves room to experiment on their sophomore release, a record teeming with hope that doubles as a revolutionary act of self-expression.
It’s pretty easy to succumb to the comfort of being numb, especially when, if everything means nothing, then you have no chance of getting hurt. It’s tempting to tune out the onslaught of tragedy on TV, the personal catastrophes and the never-ending stream of doomer bullshit we all seem to get so wrapped up in. However, on their sophomore album, Wish on the Bone, Why Bonnie make a pretty convincing case that stealing yourself from suffering doesn’t solve all of your problems. In fact, the New York-via-Texas trio highlight all of the messy and beautiful moments of growth you miss out on when you’re living life on auto-pilot.
In the follow-up to the Lone Star State nostalgia of 2022’s 90 in November, Why Bonnie set out to create an album that isn’t tied to a certain place or genre. They aimed to be unattached, to see what happens when you let yourself just be, to create with no limits and to imagine every possible scenario. Across 11 songs, the band embraces a spacious sound that still pays homage to the twangy country of their debut while giving themselves an indie rock edge. The result is a stunning record that doubles as a revolutionary act of self-expression. It feels like sheer reassurance, like the bleary-eyed conversations you have at 2 AM with your best friend that bounces between existential crisis and rounds of “remember when?” Why Bonnie distill that half-drunk hope that hits you once everyone else has left the party, that moment when you’re with the person you love the most and can’t stop wondering how you got so lucky.
The ups and downs of everyday life are encapsulated in Blair Howerton’s songwriting, sometimes under the guise of metaphors and other times hitting you with such searing honesty like on ”Green Things,” where she admits that all the money in the world can’t buy the love she’s looking for. In more indirect ways, like on “Three Big Moons”—which is set on a distant planet inspired by a sci-fi novel she was reading at the time—Howerton introduces this abstract perspective that makes you shiver because while it’s dystopian it feels familiar. As she proclaims: “Houston, we have a problem.” It isn’t just some line lifted from history. Instead, it’s a reclaimed confession that something might be wrong beyond repair, that she might have crash-landed into a territory far beyond her reach. She’s scared of getting stuck there.
Wish on the Bone is a collection of moments that oscillate between coded realizations and deeply intimate admissions. Some tracks, like “Dotted Line,” are lithe-guitar-centric songs on the surface that recall making deals with the devil and the smashing weight of capitalism. There’s the guilt that falls over the pensive melody of “Rhyme Or Reason” and the pseudo-triumph and graceful percussion of “Headlight Sun” that reminds you that life is just one big contradiction—that life is gorgeous and messy and never makes sense, whether you want to decorate it with ornate imagery or get straight to the point. Wish on the Bone is the sort of record you have to sit with for a while, if only because Howerton inspects the ambivalence with a genuine curiosity for the person she can become, not with fear of what she’s lost. It’s like she finally jump-started that car from “Nowhere, LA.” The truth is that, sometimes, you have to take a breath, get the jumper cables and figure out a way to catch a spark.
The resilience and unabashed appreciation for the curveballs thrown Howerton’s way shines brightest on the closing track, “I Took the Shot”—a demo from the period when she was still making 90 in November that features spectral vocals and guitars dense with ghostly reverb. Even as she admits “Turns out I don’t hate you / And trust me I did try,” it’s the perfect representation of how you can love someone and be let down by them at the same time. Instead of staring at the liquor, Howerton decides to drink it herself and take “one more for the road.” It’s a bittersweet moment, one that speaks volumes about the person Howerton wants to be. There is always a reason to stay put, a person to stick around for, a thing to return to. And it takes real courage to leave before losing it all.
Wish on the Bone is gorgeous, honest and real. It’s the sort of album that makes you realize that all the guts and gore and dumb shit you’ve had to put up with is what makes you who you are. Why Bonnie don’t pretend that the world is painless; they don’t act like you won’t be brought to your knees by how cruel it can be. Instead, they honor the way beauty emerges when you’re at your lowest. They recognize how brave you have to be to wake up after every tragedy and try again. Wish on the Bone is an album about perseverance, about an unrelenting belief in the world—both in other people and in yourself. After all, the hope we find is all we have to hold on to.
Read our recent profile on Why Bonnie here.