bugsy “Now I Spend All Of My Time Alone”
Review and photos by: Drey Kereakos, Writer @drey.d.k.
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @PlaylistTC
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Bugsy is back with “Now I Spend All Of My Time Alone,” their first EP release in over three years. Bugsy has always been an extremely intriguing band to keep up with as they are very generous in putting out individual songs, but when it comes to full projects? Those are most certainly kept under wraps, at times never to be revealed. Following their debut EP “Teratoma” in 2020, were four separate single releases unrelated to this new project. However, some of the more recent singles like “iceagebaby” and “Slip N Slide” initially hinted at some kind of album or project, but the band explained, that idea ended up getting redirected entirely. Now here we are, finally with six songs at once!
Kicking off this release, is the opener “town crier”, which makes for an ideal first track, with a gradual subdued sonic build-up within the first 10 seconds. It’s unique in the sense that I can tell the instrumentation is warped if not reversed, but vocalist Emily Schoonover’s brief lyricism over it, is not. Following this intro, is an epic drum fill that guides the listener straight into the rest of what the song has to offer. What both surprises me and grabs me in this track, is the immediate reference to the EP title, “Now I Spend All Of My Time Alone,” as well as the softness that carries most of the song forward. Schoonover’s vocal melodies are absolutely gorgeous, as well as their harmonized portions with bassist/co-vocalist Shannon Maroney (on top of being incredibly catchy). Most bugsy songs are typically quite thrashing and rambunctious in comparison to this track, and I’m excited to be hearing a softer side from them. Things really don’t pick up in typical sonic bugsy fashion until about 2 minutes into the 3 minute long song.
Next up, is “Tiger Beetle”, where the thrashing guitar melodies bugsy listener’s all know and love make a bold return. Similar to the track prior, there are some softer sections, but overall this song packs a lot more of a punch. “If you don’t know who you are then you can’t fight back / it takes one, to know one,” is a particularly notable refrain. Schoonover and Maroney partake in some really cool call and response at one point, ultimately leading to some vocal build-up that ends this brief song with quite a bang. I’m told this track may or may not be for recovering “people pleasers.”
The third track “soup,” was released as a single back in September. This is one of three songs on the EP to have come out prior to the full release, and truthfully, I seem to enjoy this one more every time I hear it. I think that has to do with the instrumentation being so fuzzy and raw, as well as the specificity of the feelings being portrayed in the lyricism. It is a song of grief, of noticing someone’s absence in the way your routine changes. Maybe you run into them somewhere and suddenly someone you once knew very intimately, you no longer know at all anymore. The intro is possibly one of my favorite bugsy intros I’ve heard to date. The fuzzed out bass coinciding with the main guitar melody, the drums, and how it all is joined by more emphasized guitar sets a somewhat intense yet mysterious tone that totally explodes by the time the verse starts. It’s extremely dynamic and cool, and is most certainly felt in real time when they play it live. Schoonover and Maroney are singing together for nearly the entire song too which I love. The alternate iterations of “I don’t think you’re (/ I’m) really broken, I just kinda think you’re (/ I’m) f*cked, if you wanna start over baby, I wish you the best of luck” really hits hard, and the harmonization of “there’s still so much left to do” is beautiful. From 1:50-2:29 there’s some really incredible instrumental soloing, layering and dynamic fluctuations coming from all members of the band, but what I think especially stands out is Griffen Desai (guitarist) and Alex Norman (drummer) are contributing.
The next track, “inchworm”, once again brings out a softer side sonically. I would even go as far as to say this is the most relaxed track of the whole project. It is somber but soft, still full of gorgeous vocal melodies and harmonies as well. This track is a little more self-deprecating in its themes however, as Schoonover recounts a childhood experience of accidentally killing an inchworm that had been crawling around on their hand. “They’re only hands, they’re only hands… Do I break everything I touch? If I could snap my pinky finger as easy as a carrot, then how could it be a weapon of a killer?”. All they wanted was to take their new worm friend home with them so they put it in their pocket, but it was crushed as a result.
Last but not least, we have “oh well” and “recluse”, the remaining two pre-existing singles. I think it goes without saying that both of these tracks continue to execute the sonic qualities I’ve found to be noteworthy in the previous tracks. “Oh well” is very much a love song, grappling and navigating the internalized shame, bashfulness, and nervousness that comes with liking someone new after being alone for quite some time. All of this wrapped up in an incredibly heartfelt and upbeat track. Admittedly, since its initial release I have found myself singing “I wish I hadn’t said that part out loud / I think I like you way too much / I think I like you more than I’m allowed” ALL the time because it gets severely stuck in my head. In fact, I feel the same can be said for the “I swore I’d settle up with you” line in “recluse”. I don’t feel the need to go too much more in depth regarding “recluse”, as I have already touched on it on a separate occasion (feel free to check that out here if you haven’t already). But, if there’s anything I feel is more important to further highlight regarding that song, it would be its overt directness. I think what is so moving about bugsy’s songs is how hyper-specific one can get within a realm of vagueness. There is really something to be said about taking an experience as literal as a car crash or stepping on broken glass, and being able to have it interpreted as mutual destruction within an interpersonal relationship. To be reclusive, is to be withdrawn, solitary, and/or avoidant, but in terms of this song, it is also navigating grief. It is accepting that you might not ever be able to forgive OR forget. “No forgiveness, no resentment, nothing but the sense that we’re still tied. Swore I’d settle up with you, it still hurts, it just hurts less over time.”
Overall, this EP shows an immense amount of maturity, growth, and collaboration amongst all members both sonically and emotionally. Everyone involved in the making of this project (producer, mixer, and recorder Abe Anderson included), I hope feel incredibly accomplished. I personally feel really lucky to have been able to enjoy bugsy’s music since their inception, as well as consider them my friends. “Now I Spend All Of My Time Alone” can be streamed on all major platforms, as well as physically pre-ordered on Bandcamp. You can also catch them live at their upcoming release show at 7th St Entry on December 8th, with support from Scarlet Demore, Haze Gazer, and 12th House Sun.
