Bunktown Falls – “The Good, The Bad, and The Bunktown”

February 12th, 2021

Bunktown Falls’ “The Good, The Bad, and The Bunktown” released on all places you hear music last week. It was a highly anticipated release, with collaborations featuring well-known musicians within the Long Island music scene and beyond, and it absolutely blew away our expectations! As I mentioned during our live stream with them last week, being a fan of this band for a few years now, I definitely feel that they really pushed themselves to create something really special for their first release of the 2021 year. The boys truly went all out for this one, with an on-brand incredibly done music video and even taking over The After Hours Review’s instagram stories for a day of hilarious shenanigans and hands-on insight to what it means to be a part of Bunktown Falls. This release is their most unique and eclectic one yet, and truly speaks to what it means to be a do-it-yourself artist and do it successfully on Long Island. Read on for a track-by-track review of the release!

As with any knockout release, it always needs a great introduction track and Bunktown Falls absolutely nailed it with “The Good, The Bad, and the Bunktown(Skit)”. The intro instantly brings to the wild west, kicks down its saloon doors, and immerses you into the Bunktown universe. Are you ready for it? Because there is nothing stopping this tumbleweed!

Next on the album is “Dreams”, one of my personal favorites that I have been waiting to have as a song I can listen to on repeat since I first heard it live two years ago. If not the infectious bass and guitar lines, you will surely be humming the chorus on your morning commute. I truly gravitated toward this song every time that I heard it live because of its high energy, and the recorded version kicked that energy into high gear!

Following is “Empire State” which was the first “teaser track” from the EP and released prior with incredibly great reception. The track features Audic Empire’s Ronnie Bowen, and the contents of the track are written about true events. The track was written about the shenanigans that both bands got into during and after their show at Speakeasy in Long Beach, New York back in 2019, which if that venue sounds familiar to you and you know your Bunktown Falls trivia, is the same venue that inspired their single, “Officer”. The shenanigans include everything from “staying up all night” and “breaking the law”, and as Bunktown professed it during our live interview, after that night both bands knew they had to make a song out of the experience. The track is a beautiful blend of two highly respected artists within the reggae-rock scene, and truly breathes a sense of nostalgia and yearning for times when we can all be together again to be a part of more shenanigans.

Before moving onto the next track, “Grab ‘N Dash”, I urge you to watch the music video that the boys filmed for this song. In the same way a pale ale pairs well with pub food, “Grab ‘N Dash” and its music video, directed by Joe Rubino and filmed by Bruce Videography Services, give the best experience of being immersed in the Bunktown Falls universe. This track feels most close to home to the classic energy of Bunktown Falls, with its roots in surf-rock and having a good time, however the short diversion into some fast, almost punk-rock, elements truly show that Bunktown Falls has truly mastered their musical niche and are ready to challenge and make their own rules within the scene.

“Miles to Go” was another track that I was really excited for, given that I had heard this track so many times live. Every time I had heard this track live was a completely different experience: its bump-your-body-to-the-beat rhythm is contagious, but also left room for MCs to come up spit a verse, giving a unique energy to the song depending on who was given the “Miles To Go” torch at that time. But who could be a better candidate for the recorded version than an After Hours Review favorite, Kenny Truhn?! A friend of the blog and a friend of the band, Kenny Truhn was a perfect fit for this track: his effortless talent to create an incredible and captivating story with his words, coupled with the head-bouncing energy of this track, along with the zingy tones of keyboard brought on by the talented Kai Bergsohn, I could not have experienced a more perfect collaboration for this track.

Closing out this fire album is “Try Harder”. It’s no secret that I am a sucker for horn lines in a song, so as soon as I heard those spicy horn verses at the beginning of the track, I immediately knew this would be my favorite of them all. Bias aside, I truly feel that this track, as well as the other tracks on this release, truly shows the growth and deep connection the band members have with each other and everyone that they work with. But seriously, I see no other way to start your day other than singing the horn lines from this track or singing the chorus’ “God damn god damn, what you do to me/I spend my lifetime trying to be/different versions of the me you’ve been trying to see/Loosen up your grip, I’m just trying to live/”.

“The Good, The Bad, and The Bunktown” is a release that is revolutionary in the Bunktown Falls universe as well as the beach-rock music scene. Not only does this release show how much this band has grown and truly play to the strengths of each member, the different collaborations featured on this album are nothing short of magic and goes to show that creating music for each other and the masses is a truly incredible experience. As an avid Bunktown Falls fan, this album really knocked it out of the park for me from the music to all of the media associated with it and is really indicative of what it means to be immersed in the Bunktown Falls universe.

Be sure to listen to this album on all places you listen to music and follow Bunktown Falls on all social media to keep up to date with their current and future releases!