Singles Mixer #3: "1929" by BNLX

"Hoping that the truth just might be drowned out..."

Oh hello again, music fans!

Local bedrock BNLX released their debut full length, appropriately titled BNLX this week.  To celebrate they're hosting a two night BNLXFest at Cause this weekend.

With all of that going on we thought we ask TCDroogsma to give us his take on the first single from the album, "1929."

TCDroogsma, thoughts?

Hello again, everybody.  Before I get into this song, I, regrettably, feel obligated to go into a little background for those of you who somehow may not know who BNLX is.

They're a three-piece operation consisting of Ed Ackerson on guitar, his wife Ashley on bass, and David Jarnstrom on drums.  Ackerson is probably best known as the ringleader of the alterative pop band Polara, who were nearly flawless.

Now, I mentioned I regretted bring all this up because initially BNLX went to great lengths to avoid being known as an "Ed Ackerson Project."  That seems to be a reasonable request considering his longevity in the Twin Cities scene.  Presumably they didn't want anybody to hear the name "Ed Ackerson" and dismiss them out of hand simply because they didn't like Polara or had a bad night at a DJ night that Ackerson was hosting.

Again, all of this seems understandable.  However, given how seemlessly "1929" would fit on to a Polara album it all seems kind of unnecessary.

 

1929 by BNLX

The song opens with a beautifully fuzzed-out, poppy guitar line that sounds straight out of 1994 (which is, in my world, a great compliment). Ackerson opens the song with the line, "You're a hazard to yourself..." which, if you didn't know any better, you'd easily mistake as the opening of a jilted-lover song.

However, as the first verse gives way to the bridge (and Ashley Ackerson's lovely vocals turn up), the "we" of "we're moving on up..." makes it clear that this is no boy-done-wrong song, but rather a statement of a collective.  When the chorus kicks off with the line, "Everybody in the house just sings along..." it becomes clear that the "we" is everybody and that this song is meant to be taken as a statement.

The titular "1929" is a reference to the year before the stock market crash that led to The Great Depression, and Ackerson implored us to draw the parallel between those good times and our modern times.  To finish the line from the last paragraph, "...hoping that the truth just might be drowned out by the desire to throw down like 1929."

As a political statement, Ackerson seems to be sounding the siren a couple years late.  I don't know anybody who's still "throwing down" like a young F. Scott in his hey...  It should be noted, however, that if you're buying a BNLX album for its politics you're likely missing the point.

The brilliance of this song as a single has almost nothing to do with the lyrics.  BNLX work up a perfectly distorted, reasonably dancy pop gem.  Like something along the lines of early Fountains Of Wayne if they enlisted Peter Hook & Stephen Morris as their rhythm section.  And then got Steve Albini to "record" it.  I realize that's a lot of stupid things to try to add up, but, in my mind at least, it adds up to something brilliant.

I hate to say it (and Ackerson may hate to hear it), but a working knowledge of who Polara was and a loose knowledge of Ackerson's DJ nights actually helped me to appreciate this song.  Even though I likely would have been sold on it regardless (those boy/girls vocals get me everytime...), knowing that this was the same guy who used to pen those brilliantly blurry pop gems made the political slant of the song seem more like a compliment to the work done earlier in his career than a stand alone political rant.

If you're new to BNLX, this is an excellent jumping off point.  If you're already familiar with the Ackerson sound, this is a welcome addition.

Final Score - 4/5

There you have it, folks.  Four stars...er, points?  We're not totally sure.  Still, four of five is pretty solid.  Again, BNLX will be playing two nights this weekend (Nov. 16-17) down at Cause.  Each night has a unique lineup (headlined by BNLX) and starts reasonably early at 9:00.

For more TCDroogsma he can be found on Twitter (@TCDroogsma) or over on his personal blog Flatbasset.  He doesn't throw down like a young F. Scott Fitzgerald, but he certainly has a taste for the brandy.

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