Why Bonnie – drops another teaser from her upcoming album in the incredibly personal ‘Rhyme or Reason’

Why Bonnie, the New York-based project of Blair Howerton, unveil the new single/visualizer “Rhyme or Reason” from their upcoming album Wish on the Bone, out August 30th on Fire Talk. “Rhyme or Reason” is about regenerating a sense of hope after the loss of Howerton’s brother, which happened just as she was beginning to come into her own as a songwriter. To cope, she wrote song after song, built a catalogue despite her suffering, and in doing so, developed a new relationship to spirituality, one that she defines on “Rhyme or Reason.” On the bridge, Howerton warns of what it feels like to lose the warmth of love: it’s like Halley’s Comet, “it comes fast/ And you’ll miss it if you blink.” Of the track, Howerton says: “’Rhyme or Reason’ is about coming to terms with the impermanence of life and how that’s scary but also really beautiful.

When Why Bonnie recorded their debut 90 in November, they set out to make a country album, aligning their respective technical instincts with the genre trappings. With Wish on the Bone, Howerton had no interest in adhering to genre standards. Howerton, Chance Williams, and Josh Malett fleshed out these songs with help from Jonathan Schenke, who co-produced alongside Howerton. “We were trying on musical hats,” Howerton says, laughing. “There’s still some country on this record, but I wasn’t thinking about sticking to one thing. Personal experience of learning to be bolder and more assertive and trusting myself has carried over into my music. I’m not afraid to take risks.”

Although Wish on the Bone is untethered from the particulars of landscape or genre, its fixation on what it might look like to lead an authentic life grounds the record in place. “I’ve changed since [90 in November], and I trust that I’ll probably continue to change,” Howerton says. “Maybe I won’t be the same person entirely two years from now.” Curiously, that sense of personhood made Howerton trust herself more, both in personal relationships and in the studio. Though Howerton may change, her convictions are steadfast, as is her sense of moral responsibility. “These songs were written out of hope for a better future. I’m not naïve, the world is fucked up, but I think you can radically accept that while still believing it’s possible to change things,” Howerton says. “Hope, to me, is strength.

Tracklist
1. Wish On The Bone
2. Dotted Line
3. Rhyme or Reason
4. Fake Out
5. Headlight Sun
6. Green Things
7. All The Money
8. Peppermint
9. Three Big Moons
10. Weather Song
11. I Took The Shot

Lyrically, Wish on the Bone confronts issues both macro and micro in scale. Previously released single “Fake Out”  is about “trying to be authentic in a world that makes it impossible to be so,” and lead single “Dotted Line” is written as a rallying cry, a defiant kiss off directed at the forces that be who, Howerton says, “are just turning the wheel.” But other songs on Wish on the Bone have an intimate edge, convincing the listener that Howerton is beckoning them into a private room, allowing them to witness a defining moment. With Wish on the Bone, Howerton is wide-eyed and waiting, reminding herself, even on the worst days, that despair is not inevitable.

Photo credit: Shelby Bohannon

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