Bonny Light Horseman (From the album Rolling Golden Holy

Bonny Light Horseman (From the album Rolling Golden Holy

Bonny Light Horseman (From the album Rolling Golden Holy available on 37D03D Records) (By Lee Zimmerman)0

For a Nu-Folk supergroup of sorts, Bonny Light Horseman are surprisingly unassuming. By the time they convened in 2018, Anaïs Mitchell, Josh Kaufman, and Eric D. Johnson were all well regarded singer/songwriters, each in their own right. However, it was a desire to create a collaboration that brought the trio together.

Flush with sensual melodies and hushed harmonies, the group’s eponymous debut, released in January 2020, set the standard. Two and a half years later, Rolling Golden Holy sticks to the same template, sharing a sound that as soft and sublime as ever. They’ve added a few extra touches to the mix this time around — Johnson’s lead vocal on “Gone by Fall” adds a masculine feel to a generally feminine sheen. “Cold Rain and Snow” provides some pronounced percussion that adds an provides depth. Banjo and sax give an extra dimension to “Sweetbread” while “Someone to Weep for Me” comes across as a well-worn backwoods ballad that could have been borne from an earlier era.
 
Mostly though, it’s those delicate harmonies that establish the tuneful template and make the music so sweet and seductive throughout. The three singers blend their voices so seamlessly they sound like one vocalist soaring in the spotlight. On songs such as “Exile”, “Fleur de Lis”, “Comrade Sweetheart”, and “California” a sound is created that is so shimmering and seductive, it lulls the listener in a meditative manner. The arrangements, imbued with dulcimer, keyboards, loops, synths, and all manner of acoustic instrumentation, keep the mood airy and effervescent. It’s a Folkie fanatic’s delight, a warm respite from the noise and turbulence that’s so persistently intrusive at the present time.
 
Given those delicate designs, there’s no reason to veer from the original premise, one that finds Bonny Light Horseman eschewing any extra noise in order to gain added attention. There’s something to be said for the power of soothing, seductive melodies as it applies to leaving an emphatic impression. Rolling Golden Holy proves the point. (By Lee Zimmerman)
 
Listen and buy the music of Bonny Light Horseman from AMAZON
 
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