Back in June, we shared the news of Bonny Light Horseman‘s highly anticipated sophomore album, Rolling Golden Holy, due out on October 7th (37d03d Records). The album finds them shifting the traditional song perspective of their eponymous debut, delivering instead eleven original songs, all written and realized by the trio (Anaïs Mitchell, Josh Kaufman, and Eric D. Johnson) as a whole. They have been described as following the paths of the traditional tunes the band cherishes to new musical and lyrical frontiers and give the sounds and situations of history the gravity and shape of now.
Today marks the release of their new single “Sweetbread,” their fourth album single. The spirited, inventive, and winding track features a lithe tenor saxophone performance from Mike Lewis. That sax/banjo/percussion opening really sets the tone of the single which has more of a jam session feel, something that’s hinted at by Kaufman below, and Mitchell’s vocals shine throughout; another winner.
Sweetbread follows earlier singles “Exile,” “Summer Dream” and “California”. Rolling Golden Holy is available for pre-order HERE.
“We cut ‘Sweetbread’ late in the evening at Aaron Dessner’s Long Pond studio last summer. Kinda like starting to watch a movie too late, everyone was getting a little sleepy-eyed. Anaïs went off to bed with her then-one-year-old while some of us kept jamming on the main riff for a while, unsure of what we were moving towards. It got really, really late and the tune we started playing had abstracted itself to an unrecognizable shape as we stretched and improvised through the form,” explains Kaufman. “The next morning listening back I thought this is SO groovy and different than anything we’d made up to that point, but very much still sounded like us. We were giddy to play it for Anaïs and have her take a pass singing over it. She sang the verses down over the improvised jam and it really felt magical to us. It’s very rare for this band to use a song without a live vocal, however it became the path forward for ‘Sweetbread.’ It’s a funny thing, texturally and energetically, quite a leap from the ethereal/oceany tones and vibes that tend to typify our sound, and on the other hand, since it’s drawing shape and inspiration from older folk songs like ‘Jack Of Diamonds’ and ‘Rye Whiskey,’ it’s very much in the wheelhouse of songs from our first LP… kinda like a sister song to Green Rocky Road or something. It’s adventure music and it’s elastic and it pays no mind as it jumps out of the speakers.”
Produced by Kaufman, Rolling Golden Holy is the follow-up to Bonny Light Horseman’s critically acclaimed self-titled debut, which earned two GRAMMY nominations (Best Folk Album and Best American Roots Performance) and was named one of the ‘Best Albums of 2020’ by Paste, Boston Globe, MOJO, Uncut Magazine, and more.
Rolling Golden Holy confirms that Bonny Light Horseman is not a project but a band, and one presently working at the forefront of modern American folk.
Bonny Light Horseman UK Tour Dates:
02/04/23 – Leeds – Brudenell Social Club
02/05/23 – Glasgow – St. Luke’s (Celtic Connection)
02/06/23 – Manchester – Band On The Wall
02/07/23 – London – Union Chapel
https://www.bonnylighthorseman.com/