Adrianne Lenker – Once a Bunch Review

Emotional depths were exorcised on Bright Future from Adrianne Lenker and Once a Bunch, a track to follow in the warm, honest glow of their overwhelming latest album, is a nice note to continue. A sense of fun to be had, a fluidity in the range Lenker provides and a soft break from the Big Thief sound which has been such a major part of the touring schedule for Lenker this year. There is always time for new noise and with Once a Bunch there is a delicacy to their style, a fundamentally unchanged notion heard in everything they have put out in recent memory. But therein lies the uncomfortable consistency to a Lenker song. Once a Bunch sounds like good fun but the tensions and miseries which are put on hold to experience euphoria soon return.  

Zaps of fuzz and interference are heard for a split second before the fun and fluid country tones are heard. Once a Bunch feels as light as the back-and-forth vocals convey. Nick Hakim stunts his vocal tempo just slightly enough to provide a neat layer to the Lenker lead vocals. Voice after voice joins as the margaritas and demon-fighting suggestions become a communal event, as all moments of attempts against the darkness become. A week in the life of Lenker and a warmth to it all, even with the upheavals which present themselves, out of the blue, to try and disrupt the flow of a well-planned time. It is the calming Americana tools which make this as great as it is. Josefin Runsteen on violin and a similar vocal duty as Hakim brings those tender layers to the top of Once a Bunch. Ultimately it is a song filled with joy, a pure-hearted attempt at getting to the core of what makes us happy. 

Little flutters of laughter from Lenker, stifled enough to power through what becomes a delightful performance only add to the light-heartedness heard on Once a Bunch. Nostalgia dominates the latter half of the track as Lenker dismisses someone who can conjure the homely appeal from nothing but their presence. While Once a Bunch may sound enchanted with this ease of understanding it is the culpable other half which leads on to those demon-slaying ways. The song is defiant in its own right, never quite giving up on itself or the chance for peace in the face of long-running strife. To love yourself is to love the ordinary. To find some charm in a morning coffee or evening margarita.  

Part of loving this daily dose of caffeine or alcohol is to share it with good people. Once a Bunch is all about the communal feel of positivity, the love which explores our relationship not to people but to the everyday events made better by their inclusion. Communal efforts are a far stretch better than the silence of an isolated morning for many, and for Lenker and this band of enjoyably focused musicians, it serves a light, bright bit of fun. There is still a crucial message running through it, one of satisfaction around loved ones and who to cut off when the sun does not shine quite as bright. A fitting continuation of the Bright Future Lenker wrote of last year, and what a wonderful experience it forms.