| “Impossible Dream, finds the underrated Minnesotan in top form, mixing darkness and light with a deft touch.” – NPR
“Bonar creates a whimsical masterclass of indie-pop songwriting.” – Consequence Of Sound
“In the past 10 years, she naturally progressed from stripped-down folk and country music to incorporating various layers of sound ranging from classical piano to sunshine pop.” – Interview
Stream: “Stupid Face” via SPIN or SoundCloud
Watch: “Kismet Kill” official video via NPR First Watch
Stream: “Called You Queen” via NPR‘s All Songs Considered
Stream: “I Can Change” via Stereogum or SoundCloud
Haley Bonar will release her upcoming full length album Impossible Dream on August 5th via GNDwire (US) / Spit Comet (CA) / Memphis Industries (UK + EU). The album was recorded on analog tape in at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, MN and was mixed by Chris Coady (Beach House, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TVOTR) & Robbie Lackritz (Feist) at Haut Bruun. SPIN has premiered the lastest single from the album “Stupid Face.” SPIN says, “You might not have heard someone called a “stupid face” since you were in 7th grade, but somehow Haley Bonar makes the insult sound grown-up, even whimsical as she coos the words in a forceful whisper on her new song. The indie-pop track is an a mix of moody verses and piercing choruses, over a rapid heartbeat of drums and synths. “ Stupid Face is streaming now to share via SoundCloud.
Last month, NPR’s First Watch premiered the official video for “Kismet Kill” from Impossible Dream. The video was directed by Nicole Brending and produced by Tanya K Silver. NPR’s Stephen Thompson on the video, “The video for ‘Kismet Kill,’ in which a party-loving prom queen stares down a life that can never compare to the glories of high school, captures many of Bonar’s considerable gifts: Like her music, it pairs shimmery beauty and indelible imagery with an undercurrent of bleakness that can be almost suffocating. As always, “Kismet Kill” finds Bonar packing a cocktail of mixed emotions into bold, economical phrasing — “I was impossible when I was beautiful,” she sings in the chorus — while never letting self-laceration stand in the way of a good earworm
Haley Bonar has spent a lot of the past few years poring over her past. That has something to do with the sound of her recent recordings, whether it be her recent solo efforts or the throwback funky punky grooves of her side project Gramma’s Boyfriend.
But on her latest album Impossible Dream, this glance in the rearview has also inspired some of the most poignant and pointed work of her long career as songwriter even if you have to dig a little to find Bonar within the tunes.
Impossible Dream then, like all of Bonar’s work, gains its power from a combination of the personal and universal. Even when she sings about her days hitting up basement punk shows on “Better Than Me” or kicks off this album with an ode to her formative years in the gently chiming “Hometown,” it will surely stir up memories from your own younger days.
And as with her prior albums, Bonar reveals a widescreen look at the world, touching on issues of sexuality, jealousy, and the fragile ties that bind relationships together. If they connect with your circumstance and the cultural conversation at large, that’s just a welcome coincidence.
“Those things have always been relevant to me,” Bonar says. “Those conversations have been happening my entire life.”
What is clear right now is the impact this album is looking to have on the world at large. Bonar has already received some excited press notices about the two singles from Impossible Dream that have already been released: “I Can Change” (“a resolute pillar of bold, classic songwriter,” according to The Line of Best Fit) and “Kismet Kill,” which Stereogum called “a penetrating rumination on just how transitory love and beauty can be.“). The biggest stamp of approval, though, has come from Elton John. The venerated singer/songwriter chose to play “I Can Change” on his Beats 1 show Rocket Man Radio. “Hearing Elton John say my song is beautiful is pretty awesome,” Bonar admits.
To say that Bonar’s career has been building towards that nod from a rock god, though, is to dismiss all the hard work she has done since she started releasing music in 2001. The 33-year-old singer/songwriter has been building a fanbase slowly and steadily, while remaining in complete control of her art. As with all of her prior albums, Bonar wrote and arranged all the songs on Impossible Dream. She also co-produced the record with Minneapolis mainstay Jacob Hanson. Chances are she’d be making this music even without the support of a label or her many fans around the world. But, just as the title of this new album suggests, she’s living out her wildest and most impossible dream right now.
“If somebody came to me as a teenager and said, ‘In 15 years, you’ll have made nine records and be touring the world,’ I would have been, like, ‘No way,’” she says, laughing. “It’s true that it might not look like a lot to some people, but it’s very special to me.”
Haley Bonar has also announced fall US and UK shows. Look for more tour dates to be added in the coming weeks. All confirmed dates are listed below.
Haley Bonar Tour Dates
7.26 | Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall *
7.28 | Detroit, MI – St. Andrews Hall *
7.31 | Rochester, MN – Riverside Concert Series *
9.06 | Chicago, IL – Schubas
9.07 | Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups
9.08 | Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live
9.09 | Portsmouth, NH – Birdseye
9.10 | Portland, ME – SPACE
9.11 | Cambridge, MA – The Middle East
9.13 | Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory
9.14 | Washington, DC – Black Cat
9.16 | Cincinnati, OH – MOTR Pub
9.17 | Bloomington, IN – The Bishop
9.24 | Eau Claire, WI – The State Theater
10.13 | Hamburg, DE – Kleiner Donner
10.14 | Berlin, DE – Privatclub
10.15 | Munich, DE – Hauskonzerte.com
10.16 | Offenbach, DE – Hafen 2
10.17 | Amsterdam, DE – Paradiso
10.19 | Paris, FR – Espace B
10.21 | Brighton, UK – Green Door Store
10.22 | Gateshead, UK – The Sage ^
10.23 | Glasgow, UK – The Hug & Pint
10.24 | Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
10.27 | London, UK – Moth Club
10.28 | Bristol, UK – The Louisiana
10.29 | Manchester, UK – The Ritz ^
^ w/ Field Music
* w/ Lucius |
