{"title":"Haley Bonar","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"last-war","title":"Last War","description":"\u003cp\u003eHaley Bonar releases her debut UK album 'Last War' (via Memphis Industries), a nine track collection as relentlessly catchy on the surface as it is alluringly complex underneath. Haley Bonar was first discovered by Low's Alan Sparhawk who spotted her at a local open mic club in Duluth, Minnesota and was so impressed he immediately invited her to join them on tour. Which is how, a week later, nineteen year old Haley Bonar, was transformed from college student to ambitious dropout, crammed into a Honda Civic with a guitar and a drummer for company, touring the US opening for Low. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut there is more to this story. In the decade since Haley has released a succession of recordings, each of which have garnered more praise the last, and has seen her collaborate with the likes of Andrew Bird (with whom Haley occasionally plays live) and Justin Vernon (who features on the new album). That's not to mention the company she keeps in a rotating cast of premium band members including Jeremy Hanson (Tapes 'n Tapes), Luke Anderson (Rogue Valley), Jeremy Ylvisaker (Andrew Bird, Alpha Consumer) and Mike Lewis (Bon Iver, Alpha Consumer). Now, with her new album 'Last War' Haley looks set to find a wider audience. Much of the joy of Bonar's songwriting is in the tension between her sparkling melodic sensibility and her deeply ambivalent lyrics. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlbum opener 'Kill the Fun' positively crackles with traces of the Bangles and the Cure at their most pop, as Bonar chronicles her travels with a lover, taking some moments to reveal the nature of the relationship: \"You'll be here till morning \/ You will get back on the plane \/ Go back to work \/ where you never knew my name.\" On 'No Sensitive Man' (which features the most Clem Burke drums outside of a Blondie record), she claims \"I don't want no sensitive man \/ I don't want to talk.\" While on the captivating 'Heaven's Made For Two' Bonar's daydreaming vocal drifts ethereally as the instrumentation builds from stripped-back beginnings into a country-meets-shoegaze wall of sound crescendo. On 'Last War', the complexities hit as hard as the hooks, a smart, careful balance achieved through equal doses of mystery and charm.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Memphis Industries","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50492806988107,"sku":"377959","price":5.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50492809150795,"sku":"381622","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/2b64f5a1-9490-484c-aa91-e6725cd7ded1_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727693481"},{"product_id":"impossible-dream-1","title":"Impossible Dream","description":"\u003cp\u003eRecorded on analog tape at Pachyderm Studios, Minnesota and produced by Haley Bonar and Jacob Hansen, 'Impossible Dream' is the follow-up to 2014's 'Last War', which enjoyed widespread critical acclaim and featured in Rough Trade, NPR and Village Voice's 'Albums of the Year' lists. Haley Bonar was first discovered by Low's Alan Sparhawk who spotted her at a local club in Duluth, Minnesota and was so impressed he immediately invited her to join them on tour. Which is how, a week later, nineteen year old Haley Bonar, was transformed from college student to ambitious dropout, crammed into a Honda Civic with a guitar and a drummer for company, touring the US opening for Low. In the decade since Haley has released a succession of recordings, each of which have garnered more praise the last, and has seen her collaborate with the likes of Andrew Bird (with whom Haley occasionally plays live) and Justin Vernon (who featured on Last War). Bonar says of new album 'Impossible Dream': \"Everybody wants a story. Something to sell. I'm here to tell you that there isn't one with this album, at least in the traditional sense, but ten. I could sit here and tell you that some of the songs are about growing up in the Black Hills. Some of the songs are about my parents. Some of the songs are about homosexuality. Some of the songs are about loss of youth, teenage parenthood, the lines of social disorder for women, or the terror of jealousy and suspicion. But what I write is borne of my own set of memories and ideas, and once they are released into the world, they do not belong to me anymore.\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Memphis Industries","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50494049681739,"sku":"401978","price":5.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/3c6d96ef-cc13-456a-8999-f1558ed2d9af_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727703023"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/haley-bonar.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}