Oklahoma’s golden boys Broncho are back with their artsy, mellow, and groove-laden fourth act, Bad Behavior. If you’re not familiar with the band’s previous catalogue, or you have simply not gone out of your way to explore the band’s previous three albums, you will have probably heard some of their tracks popping up in various places across the pop culture landscape. With inclusions on soundtracks from everything from the HBO series Girls, Netflix’s comedy series Santa Clarita Diet, and big-budget Hollywood flicks like Vacation – chances are you may already be familiar with their work. Bad Behavior serves as the band’s fourth full-length outing – and boy is it a good one.
With a sound somewhat reminiscent of everything from Tame Impala to MGMT, trying to draw direct comparisons of the band’s unique sonic capabilities will only leave you coming up short, as Broncho operate well within in their own lane. The incredibly well thought out visual aspects of the album really shine and serve to give the music an extra artistic dimension. The leading double-single from the album ‘Sandman/Boys Got To Go‘ comes partnered with a strikingly superb twelve-minute visual piece written and directed by renowned photographer Pooneh Ghana.
The album really comes into its own with the tracks ‘Weekend‘ and the aforementioned ‘Sandman‘, both being examples of the band’s feverishly brilliant brand of anthemic indie. Driving basslines underpinned by thumping drums, further accented by twinkly guitar riffs and dream-like vocals drenched in delay and reverb, are the signature through-lines of the band’s sound and work together to create music that sends the listener into a trance-like state. The music that Broncho creates is almost impossible to resist becoming totally and completely enamoured with – the different elements fused within will give fans, from a multitude of genres, something to grasp and find a deep appreciation for.
Broncho are one of those rare bands that evolve and change on every album, and Bad Behavior could be seen as their biggest evolution to date. Overall the album is less distorted and aggressive than some of their previous work is at times, and even on the most in-your-face tracks from the album, you still get a sense of pensive harmony. While the band may be commonly labelled with the broad umbrella term of indie, they have proven time and time again to be much more than that.
Overall Bad Behavior is a breath of fresh air in what has become a somewhat stale ‘indie’ landscape. Broncho have created something that is both of high artistic merit and an album that will thoroughly be at home being played in any mood or situation you find yourself in. It is a shining example of a start-to-finish album, as every single track is expertly crafted to convey a feeling, emotion, or snapshot in time. This album will no doubt be ranking highly on many peoples AOTY lists and if you don’t have it already, you should.
Bad Behaviour is out now on Park The Van.
