The Double Doghouse

morning folks! this week we’re taking a break from the regular schedule to try and catch some recent (and a few not recent) releases that have slipped by me on the normal review pace. first up is the most recent full album from country musician Orville Peck. i reviewed the first EP drop for this album, but was a bit swamped when the record dropped, so i’m excited to get back into it!

Bronco opens with Daytona Sand, a relatively quieter plea to a lover to go with the singer. i enjoyed this one from the EP releases leading up to the full release, and i really dig it as an opener. The Curse of the Blackened Eye didn’t really catch me on the first listen – this is a rosier track than a lot of Peck’s other works (especially given the subject matter here) and while i enjoy the warmth i think the track’s just fine. Outta Time is a good track, though i think its kinda weird this early on the record. Lafayette’s another of the brighter tracks, and its a sweeter track handling the end of a relationship. good times. C’mon Baby, Cry was the lead single off this record and damn this track slaps. excellent vocal delivery, fantastic guitars, and theres this kinda old timey vibe to it thats delicious. great song. Iris Rose has those rosy horns in it, you gotta love it. Kalahari Down is very beautiful, but it isnt one of the tracks here that sticks with me. the title track, Bronco, is a rollicking good time. love this track. Trample Out the Days is a more reflective track, and its p good. the hook on Blush is very fun. ‘s just fine on the verses but damn that chorus does a lot, haha. interestingly, Peck made a comment about this track being a nod to some of the Beatles’ twangier work, like what British country would sound like. very interesting through that lense. Hexie Mountain’s nice – it kinda faded for me since the singles release. i’m feeling kinda middling on Let Me Drown – Peck’s delivering the chops here but this isnt really my kinda track. a little bit of whiplash coming into Any Turn – Peck called this a patter song, and yknow thats a great name for this kind of track. i enjoy this one. City of Gold’s nice. All I Can Say brings Bria Salmena for guest vocals, and i really like the slow entwining of the vocals. very good closer.

faves – Daytona Sand, Lafeyette, C’mon Baby, Cry, Bronco, Any Turn
dislikes –

yeah this one’s definitely not bad – the highs are really high and the lows are not that low, but some of the sequencing here kills a bit of my energy while listening through. i really like Peck on the more energetic tracks, the more broody tracks, and theres sometimes really sharp shifts between those and the quieter and more sensitice tracks. thats worsened a bit by the fact that a lot of the strongest tracks here are front-loaded, which slows the back end to me by quite a bit.

like i said though, the highs are high here. there’s a lot thematically about finding yourself in the world and missing intimacy and community – songs about travelling relationships and missing home. Peck’s vocals here are fantastic, and he’s flexing quite a bit of range too. definitely a strong showing, and given the growth from Pony, makes me excited to hear even more.

Bronco – 7/10