Bronson (album)

Bronson (stylised in all caps[6]) is the eponymous debut studio album by Bronson, the collaborative project of American DJs Odesza and Australian producer Golden Features.[7] It was released on 7 August 2020, delayed from an initial 17 July release.[2]

Bronson
Studio album by
Bronson (Odesza and Golden Features)
Released7 August 2020
Recorded2018–2020
Genre
Length39:15
Label
Producer
Odesza chronology
A Moment Apart
(2017)		 Bronson
(2020)
Golden Features chronology
Raka
(2019)		 Bronson
(2020)
Singles from Bronson
  1. "Heart Attack"
    Released: 28 April 2020[3]
  2. "Vaults"
    Released: 28 April 2020[3]
  3. "Dawn"
    Released: 30 June 2020[4]
  4. "Keep Moving"
    Released: 21 July 2020[5]

The album debuted and peaked at number 22 on the ARIA Albums Chart in Australia on 17 August 2020,[8] and at number 5 on the US Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart on 22 August 2020.[9]

Background

The album follows Golden Features' 2019 collaborative EP Raka with The Presets and Odesza's Grammy nominated 2017 album A Moment Apart.[10] Golden Features previously remixed Odesza's song "Falls" in October 2018.[11]

Odesza members Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight bonded with Thomas Stell over a mutual admiration of each other's music, sending demos to one another over Dropbox.[3] After multiple studio sessions over FaceTime,[12] they eventually met up in order to record together, which led to the creation of the album.[3]

Release and promotion

The album was announced on 27 April via Twitter,[12] with Odesza posting on their account:

"Just finished an entire album with Golden Features."[13]

Thomas Stell additionally posted:

"Let me introduce you to BRONSON. A full album from myself and my brothers ODESZA coming soon."[12]

The album was originally scheduled to release on 17 July 2020,[10] but was delayed to 7 August.[2]

Singles

Four singles were released from the album: "Heart Attack" (featuring lau.ra) and "Vaults" on 28 April 2020,[3] "Dawn" (featuring Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs) on 30 June 2020,[4] and "Keep Moving" on 21 July 2020.[5]

Recording

Bronson was produced by Harrison Mills, Clayton Knight, and Thomas Stell.[14]

Recording on the album began in 2018, in Berry, New South Wales,[3] and was finalised in 2020.[12]

Composition

Bronson is primarily a house,[15] electro,[16] and EDM album.[17]

Themes

In a statement regarding the album's themes, Bronson stated the record is about:

"[Their] respective needs to challenge personal struggles, both internal and external. Moreover, the trio recognized that their own battles were merely microcosms of the surrounding world. The hope was to craft a body of work that was reflective of that duality of lightness and darkness inherent to the human condition.[18]

Artwork

The cover artwork depicts a man holding his head in his hands, with the letters "Bro" and "Nson" written in capital letters on his left and right hands, respectively.[13] The album title is displayed in white text at the bottom of the image.[6]

Critical reception

Ross Goldenberg of Dancing Astronaut stated: "With all tracks seamlessly transitioning into one another, Bronson maintains a balanced pool of lighter additions."[19] He additionally described the album as "a promising first chapter".[19]

Sophie Bress, also of Dancing Astronaut, called the album "a maze of sound, brimming with contradictions. It is expected but not predictable, surprising but not shocking, sonically diverse but not disjointed."[20] Bress also noted the album "brings together their distinct styles", describing the result as a "multitudinous and emotive musical collection that defies classification".[20]

Allie Gregory of Exclaim! praised the album as "a wholesome, heartfelt approach to electronic dance music that appeals to emotion before aesthetics."[17] Gregory also stated she "hope[s] to hear from [them] again in the future."[17]

Ryan Middleton of Magnetic Magazine described the album as "tough and gritty" and praised its "intricate melodies".[16] Middleton also favourably compared the track "Tense" to Gesaffelstein's production work.[16]

Commercial performance

In Australia, Bronson debuted and peaked at number 22 on the ARIA Albums Chart for the chart dated 17 August 2020,[8] before falling into the lower fifty the following week.[21]

In the United States, the album debuted and peaked at number 5 on Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart,[9] before exiting the chart a week later.[22]

Track listing

All tracks were written by all members of Bronson, with the exception of featured artists. All tracks produced by Bronson.

Bronson track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Foundation"3:04
2."Heart Attack" (featuring lau.ra)3:29
3."Bline"4:24
4."Know Me" (featuring Gallant)3:00
5."Vaults"4:04
6."Tense"3:19
7."Call Out"2:59
8."Contact"3:27
9."Keep Moving"4:06
10."Dawn" (featuring Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs)7:23
Total length:39:15
Japanese edition bonus tracks[23]
No.TitleLength
11."Know Me" (instrumental) 
12."Heart Attack" (instrumental) 

Notes

  • All track titles are stylised in all caps.[6]
  • The album tracklist initially contained a song titled "Blackout",[18] but this song was removed from the final tracklist in favour of "Keep Moving".[24]

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes.[25]

Bronson

Other musicians

Charts
Chart performance for Bronson
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[26] 22
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[9] 5

Year-end charts
Year-end chart performance for Bronson
Chart (2020) Position
Australian Dance Albums (ARIA)[27] 50

Release history
Release formats for Bronson
Region Release date Formats Label Refs.
Australia 7 August 2020
Warner Music Australia [28][6]
Various
  • CD
  • LP
  • digital download
  • streaming
 Ninja Tune / Foreign Family Collective [29]

References
  1. "BRONSON (Vinyl) – Warner Music Australasia". Warner Music Australasia. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  2. Bein, Katie (30 June 2020). "Odesza & Golden Features return as Bronson via a soaring collaboration with TEED". Billboard. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  3. Newstead, Al (29 April 2020). "Listen to the first tracks from Odesza & Golden Features' new project BRONSON". Triple J. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  4. Mao, Jessica (30 June 2020). "BRONSON enlist Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs for 'DAWN' [Stream]". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  5. Narozniak, Rachel (21 July 2020). "'Keep Moving' with BRONSON's latest single, music video". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  6. "Bronson by Bronson on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  7. Langford, Jackson (27 April 2020). "Golden Features and Odesza announce new project 'BRONSON'". NME Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  8. "Folklore gives Taylor Swift third week at #1". ARIA Charts. 15 August 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  9. "Top Dance/Electronic Albums: The Week of August 22, 2020". Billboard. 22 August 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  10. Langford, Jackson (29 April 2020). "Golden Features and ODESZA's new project BRONSON shares first two singles". NME Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  11. Norris, Asher (21 October 2018). "ODESZA's "Falls" gets an all-star remix pack from Kaskade, TOKiMONSTA, and more". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  12. Jenke, Tyler (29 April 2020). "Golden Features & ODESZA detail debut BRONSON album". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  13. Jenke, Tyler (28 April 2020). "Golden Features and ODESZA announce new BRONSON project". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  14. Lefevre, Zachary (22 July 2020). "BRONSON shares their darker side with music video for "KEEP MOVING"". EDM Identity. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  15. Fuamoli, Sose (12 August 2020). "Golden Features talks about BRONSON, his collab project with ODESZA". Triple J. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  16. Middleton, Ryan (7 August 2020). "Album Review: Bronson – Bronson". Magnetic Magazine. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  17. Gregory, Allie (5 August 2020). "On Bronson's self-titled debut, ODESZA and Golden Features offer an antidote to modern EDM". Exclaim!. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  18. Bain, Katie (28 April 2020). "Hear the first tracks from Odesza and Golden Features' new collaboration Bronson". Billboard. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  19. Goldenberg, Ross (7 August 2020). "Bronson deliver far-reaching, 10-track eponymous album [Stream]". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  20. Bress, Sophie (7 August 2020). "BRONSON embark on a poignant odyssey with debut LP [Review]". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  21. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 24 August 2020". No. 1590. Australian Recording Industry Association. 24 August 2020. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  22. "Top Dance/Electronic Albums: The Week of August 29, 2020". Billboard. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  23. "Bronson – Tower Records". Tower Records. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  24. "Bronson share self-titled LP's tracklist ahead of highly anticipated release". Dancing Astronaut. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  25. Bronson (booklet). Bronson. Warner Music Australia / Ninja Tune / Foreign Family Collective. 2020.CS1 maint: others (link)
  26. "Australiancharts.com – Bronson – Bronson". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  27. "ARIA Top 50 Dance Albums for 2020". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  28. "Bronson (Limited Clear Vinyl) at JB Hi-Fi". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  29. "Bronson CD + Digital Album". We Are Bronson Store. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
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