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Written by Megan Washausen Wednesday, 09 October 2013 19:32

I much prefer Bonnell’s fresh sound and thoughtful metaphors to just about everything I’ve heard on the radio lately.

Megan Bonnell’s album Hunt and Chase is an easy listen. I’ve played it on repeat dozens of times while working, its imaginatively soulful and smoky sound relaxing, yet concentrated.

Bonnell is young (not to mention, absolutely beautiful) and though her youth peppers almost every song on this 10-track album, she sings about topics like love and separation from oneself with an old soul.

Her opening track, “Coming Home” sets the tone for the entire album, sweeping you up in a wind that fluctuates between rough and gentle but an unwavering natural element regardless. Chant-like lyrics create a tribal rhythm and her raspy voice immediately took my mind to Adele; however, this is not to say she is an Adele mini-me; I much prefer Bonnell’s fresh sound and thoughtful metaphors to just about everything I’ve heard on the radio lately. I love the echo effect used in this song, again adding to its tribal, chant-like sound, and I was glad to hear it used again later in the album.

“Found You” is a beautiful song and one that includes those brilliant metaphors and similes I spoke of. A quick taste: “My heart moved like ice down a river, and you were the rock that I froze to.” I heard that for the first time and just paused, allowing myself to savor it, the way you would a hearty bite of apple pie, drowning in cinnamon. And all of her songs are like this really. They swallow you up in their imagery.

Her lyrical escapism continues in the next song on the album, “Stars,” as she sings “explosions in the sky, they fell on my head, and I bled till I was just a ghost, and I missed you the most.” Here she is questioning the decision of the stars to separate her from Earth, despite heaven’s beauty. I’d place this track at second on my favorite’s list.

“Say My Name” is my favorite track on the album, but the funny thing is, I’m not a huge fan of the lyrics. She sings about her intention of proving to someone that she loves them, and maybe it’s just that “proving” strikes me as a strong word choice, but there was something unsettling to me about this one. (It could also very well be the fact she is young and from my own experience I think the pressure to “prove” to someone that you love them is much greater the younger you are. Again, reasons why I find it unsettling). However, I love how it sounds. She is a talented pianist and her voice is beautiful no matter what words escape her lips. According to her website, she taught herself piano at the young, young age of four.  

Her use of imaginative elements climax in “Hunt and Chase,” the album’s title track. The most upbeat song on the album, Bonnell sings of  searching someone’s heart by “flashlight, flashlight.” And the song opens, “down the rabbit hole tonight.” Are you shrieking at the greatness of this right now because I do every time I hear it and I just, I’m in love with it! The song plays out like a dream, slowing down to float at the peak of its momentum.

Bonnell’s music is perfect for the fall weather that has recently come over St. Louis. It’s like log cabins and fire places, it’s earthy and rich; it’s red, orange, yellow, and brown.

I expect a lot of great things to come from this girl in the future, and until they have I am perfectly content to play Hunt and Chase on repeat. A | Megan Washausen

Standout Tracks — Coming Home, Say My Name, Found You, I’m Not Your Woman, Hunt and Chase

R.I.Y.L. — Adele, Christina Perry