Bellhoss

On the surface, Bellhoss takes a traditional approach to making sunny, Americana-tinged indie pop. These tunes are catchy, well-performed, well-recorded, and just off-kilter enough to stand out from their peers. The vocals shine in particular, sitting forward in the mix and employing memorable melodies and tastefully layered harmonies. The lyrics nicely span the quotidian and the profound, focusing on jobs and love and yearning and identity. It’s laid back enough to feel relaxing, familiar enough for comfort, and animated enough to sweep you up and take you for a ride. 

 

There isn’t much new ground broken here: these songs don’t set out to defy genre norms so much as nicely accomplish what their influences have before them. Listeners might hear the windswept indie of Rilo Kiley or La Sera; at times they lean into a Superchunk-esque powerpop jubilance. There’s a tongue-in-cheek insouciance permeating their style that calls to mind Courtney Barnett, especially in the lyrical content and style. One of the ways Bellhoss subverts expectations isby wandering away from anticipated rhymes – sidestepping the potential of “Peoria” by landing on “system,” in the second track “Denny’s” for instance. Sometimes these lyrical choices can feel like a missed opportunity, but more often than not they nicely focus the listener’s attention and cause more active engagement. 

 

At times a twang appears, and all throughout delay-soaked guitar flourishes lend a cosmic sheen to the work. All of it is in service to the whole. EP opener “Better Now” is a competent tune that introduces the band’s adept playing and comfortable agenda. “Denny’s” ups the ante with more intricate interplay between the instruments, more intentional songwriting, and yields a more memorable result. The third, titular track “A Rose, A Thorn,” is where Bellhoss taps into the full potential of their collective powers. Intricate parts overlay one another seamlessly, dynamics rise and fall with organic precision, melodies and harmonies work in concert, and the result is as nicely a realized song as I’ve heard. “Child,” a heartbroken sparkle of sad-core indulgence, nicely concludes the EP.

 

Bellhoss is clearly at home in these upbeat, clear-skies tunes. While any one element may shine brighter for a moment, this is the work of a true band: coming together not just to make each other better, but to make the listener better too.