Out Now: ‘Sugaregg,’ the Dynamic New Album from Alicia Bognanno + Bully That Deserves to Be Heard … Loudly

There’s a certain throwback quality to the music of Bully, fronted by singer/guitarist Alicia Bognanno. Each song bursts with frenetic energy and a deeply-rooted sense of emotional weight, the jagged riffs and Bognanno’s often shouted lyrics giving the proceedings the sort of feeling that you’d get listening to a buzzworthy grunge/punk-based act of, say, 1992.

That Bully resides on Sub Pop Records, then, is perfect — and the band’s new album, Sugaregg, feels like a time capsule to another era (meant in the best way possible).

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SUGAREGG is out today. I spent the past 3 years of my life on this record and told myself no matter how it’s received I have to be proud of the immeasurable amount of work I put into it.

Listen to SUGAREGG: https://t.co/tEglMN83I9 pic.twitter.com/0quPbZzQGf

— Bully (@Bully) August 21, 2020

Tracks like “Every Tradition” are Bully at its best — a charged buzzsaw of an anthem featuring riffs (SO MANY riffs), driving rhythms and Bognanno’s lyrics:

If you’re gonna shame me
Turn around bite your tongue till it bleeds
Don’t need you to save me
Somethings off you’re wrong about the dream
And I’ve been fucking up
Wasting my time second guessing what I need
I dunno what you want
It’s evocative, you’ve so convincing
Yeah I hear you but
Nothings changed for me, nothings changed for me

“Where to Start,” another pre-release single from the album, distills as much frustration as possible into a three-minute burst of catharsis:

“Prism” slows things down slightly — but still rocks:

Said Bognanno of the new album in a statement:

I spent the past 3 years of my life on this record and told myself no matter how it’s received I have to be proud of the immeasurable amount of work I put into it. Whether it does well or seems to slip through the cracks I can still hear the leaps, risks and personal growth I’ve made when I listen back. I always joke about having an unhealthy relationship with my work because for better or for worse I feel no separation between myself and Bully. So here ya go, I’ve laid it all out on the table and for what it’s worth it feels pretty damn good.

Thanks so much to Wesley Mitchell, John Congleton, Zack Dawes, Graham Walsh, Ryan Matteson, Tony Kiewel, Madelyn Anderson, Emily Lee and everyone at Sub Pop for making this record possible and if you made it all the way to the end of this paragraph please be kind to yourself because you and your hot butt deserve it.

Love, Alicia

In normal circumstances, Bully would be out on the road promoting Sugaregg right now — but that’ll have to wait. When it resumes, expect the shows to be particularly electric, because the music on this album DEMANDS to be heard loud.

Until then, stream it below, via Spotify: