Bonny Light Horseman – Rolling Golden Holy

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It’s rare to find three confederates more musically matched than the members of Bonny Light Horseman, and their new album, Rolling Golden Holy, is a collaboration unlike any you’re likely to hear this year. There are even fewer rules than they had on their first disc. In the process, they’ve made something even more memorable because they take even more chances. Anais Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson and Josh Kaufman all sing, creating blends that reflect three individuals who have merged their identities in search of a common dream – to create the best music possible.

Coming off an album that was created largely to highlight music from completely different generations, Rolling Golden Holy features songs specifically written for this project. All three have had input in creating something special and unique, a reflection of where they are in the here and now. Recorded in Jerry Marotta’s Dreamland, housed in a former church complete with stained glass windows, it provided a perfect location for the three. At times they took off their headphones and played together, getting closer and playing softer, trusting in the magic that was taking place as they sang.

Tunes like “Exile” feel like living things floating through the air. Guitar and banjo provide a core sound while in no way sounding totally familiar. There is something in the way they play that seems to breathe new life into their instruments. The melody is simple but what Williams does with it takes it to places one would never expect. By the song’s end, we hear the final notes sung solo, and the effect is mesmerizing.

Guitars create sounds that are organic, electric and fire at angles that aren’t exactly off kilter but don’t necessarily hew to what you might expect. Not quite wobbly, the solos on “California” reflect a reality filled with new possibilities. Within the context of a song written about leaving the ‘land of plenty,’ it offers up thoughts of what is to come.

The reflections of “Summer Dream” illustrate how moments and angles change over time. What is now simply isn’t the same as what was. Amidst the guitars, Mitchell sings, “I saw your face last night/ In a heat light storm/ Come to me so sad/ Sand on your castle/ Wanted to touch your hand/ ‘Stead I watched you drift away again.” The dream and the reality don’t meet up if they were intended to.

Playing out on an entirely different level, “Gone by Fall” reflects the reality of knowing the place he is in is only momentary. As sung by Johnson, there’s a sense of wistfulness in the refrain, “If I last the summer/ I’ll be gone by fall.” The temporary and transitory nature of those moments creates their own reality.

Even as “Sweetbread” sounds traditional in its lyrical qualities, the music takes on tones much more modern, in part thanks to the sax of Mike Lewis, who takes the instrument into areas farther afield than you might expect, which is all part of the equation with Bonny Light Horseman. They go places not quite so familiar in search of magic. That they find it is only part of what makes them special.

Eric D. Johnson, Josh Kaufman and Anais Mitchell form a musical family that goes down pathways in search of the spirit that brings music to life. On Rolling Golden Holy, their notes change the way we look at life and music.

Rolling Golden Holy is out on 7th October

pre-order via Bandcamp: https://bonnylighthorseman.bandcamp.com/album/rolling-golden-holy

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