Haley Bonar

Last War (Graveface Records)
14/20

The topics powering Last War are fairly archetypal keynotes: motherhood, the financial tribulations of being a working musician and perennial heartbreak. In the wrong hands, these lyrical vignettes would be wearisome recreations of hardships that we’ve heard a thousand times before. Fortunately, as a result of Haley Bonar’s 13 years of assorted musical output and refreshing lyrical candour, she adds a sense of human exasperation to the adversity which takes her in to the realms of daydreaming, mundanity and indignation. It’s these flashes of upfront consequence that triumph on Last War.

The garage rock scowl that occasionally creeps in on No Sensitive Man is contrasted by the shoulder-dusting recuperation of Bad Reputation. The autobiographical elements of her songwriting are most prominent on closer Eat For Free, where Justin Vernon’s backing vocals provide an undercurrent for a chronicle of “putting on a show for everyone”. Having worked on music almost solidly since the age of 19, there is an element of reluctant coming-of- age in these songs as Bonar gets settled in her 30s. This separation from youth sounds slightly mushy when placed against the open freeway power pop of Kill The Fun and Heaven’s Made For Two which lets the straightforward lyrical content down. Bonar is clearly at a place where the intricacies of her life make sense and the record sounds best when she lets them take her wherever without worrying about the finished product.

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Words: Helen Fellows