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New Austin Music Worth Your Bandwidth This Week
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Bonnie Whitmore: Last Will & Testament
Bonnie Whitmore works musical alchemy, turning the hardest material into anthems that belie their underlying density. That skill flashed provocatively on 2016's arrival statement Fuck With Sad Girls but matures fully with fourth LP Last Will & Testament.
Core to the indie Austin singer-songwriter is her steel-eyed stare into the vortex of pain and fury, but with an incredibly fierce empathy, creating an album here that invites you into its reality while standing its ground. Whitmore slings big hooks and earworm rhythms, weighted by her powerhouse vocals on tendering soul and acerbic rock, but she never couches the directness of the songs in guitar crunch or oblique lyrics. Last Will & Testament never pulls its punches.
Although the title track opens with ethereal "ahhs," a raw crank into the pounding percussion unleashes a rending into depression and suicide, bitter and betrayed. Likewise, "None of My Business" sways sweetly in pondering the world's cruelty and indifference.
The triptych "Right/Wrong," "Fine," and "Asked for It" set the bedrock of the album. The former slices our divisive moment with an Aimee Mann weariness, and Jaimee Harris co-write "Fine" serves heartbreak with a Martina McBride polish. "Asked for It" slaps back with a boot to the crotch of rape culture.
The album's second half touches more tender, from the swelling strings courtesy of sister Eleanor Whitmore on "Time to Shoot" to torched piano ballad "Love Worth Remembering." Even the carnivalesque "Imaginary" warps darkly nostalgic, swooning with its author's wilting chorus. A stunning rendition of Centro-matic's "Flashes and Cables" makes sense in capping the dichotomy between power and vulnerability. Whitmore unhinges the Will Johnson classic with a palpable ferocity.
Crafting more than simply an album with something important to say, and striking boldly with an expert precision accented by her production with guitarist Scott Davis, Bonnie Whitmore creates a masterpiece of message and emotion. – Doug Freeman