Losing

Bully - Losing
Critic Score
Based on 17 reviews
2017 Ratings: #474 / 940
User Score
Based on 53 ratings
2017 Rank: #626
Liked by 1 person
October 20, 2017 / Release Date
LP / Format
Sub Pop / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS

85
Spectrum Culture
Overall, the melodies are broader and the tracks are a bit less sludgy here, and the band collectively succeeds at overcoming the natural limitations of the punk quartet format by experimenting with different harmonies and packing unique bursts of melody into unconventional pockets of tracks.
85
Northern Transmissions
Bringing a deeply personal record, this release finds Bully vulnerable yet strong, for a record that soars on its decidedly honest lyrics.
80
DIY
With the world often seeming like a bleakly real episode of Black Mirror these days, ‘Losing’ - a record that expresses the paralysing feeling of helpless that comes from watching it all unfold - is both timely and cathartic.
80
Q Magazine
Alicia Bognanno's diary-like vocals still slide from ingenue-like to raging screams and back again but now her delivery is a little more taut. It makes the bits where she loses control feel very real.
80
Dork
Bognnano is still as open and raw as ever. Now she’s poking around in the open wounds with a purpose; ready to seal the endless abyss that is self-doubt and start finding her way through life with clearer eyes.
80
The Line of Best Fit

Now two years wiser, Bognanno has returned with the follow up, and her Sub Pop debut, Losing - an album even more focused and emphatic than its predecessor.

80
No Ripcord

Losing is another great piece of work, agile in its incessant infection and displaying more confidence and control than its predecessor.

80
NME

Growing up is hard but Bully make it sound exhilarating.

75
A.V. Club

Even at that short running time, Losing’s 12 songs start to blur together toward the end, but the album’s many charms keep that from becoming a liability.

72
Pitchfork

The band’s second album, Losing, is grimier and less sugar-slick than their 2015 debut, Feels Like, where songs like “Trying” and “Milkman” offered hooks so punchy they bordered on pop-punk. Here, by contrast, Bognanno seems frozen in the moment where she’s poised to jump but hasn’t left the ground yet, tensed and ready to strike as she sings out the snags in her interpersonal malaise.

70
Rolling Stone
By delving inward, they carve a path forward.
70
Uncut
An album of grungy, earnest rock that pivots from deluges of Hole-inspired chaos to more restrained, melodic fare.
70
PopMatters

The band might not have developed their sound, but they have made their feelings more explicit.

70
The Young Folks
The skills of Bognanno, Copeland, Parker and Lazarus can create bursts of energy and rocking fun when listened to individual songs at a time, but as an album experience the sound starts to sound repetitive and static.
67
Consequence of Sound

Losing adjusts the pace of the chase while adding in more decorations, some that move from the background to forefront and help flip the beauty from fleeting to persistent.

60
AllMusic
It may feel a little too familiar for those who experienced the '90s alt-rock boom firsthand, but those who didn't will no doubt be able to extract and enjoy its vibrancy.
40
Drowned in Sound

There’s nothing inherently bad about anything on Losing, but nothing’s going to stick around, either. It’s also not enough to say that those who don’t remember the Nineties are the record’s intended audience, so originality doesn’t matter as much. That’s insulting to both band and listener.

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Track List

1Feel the Same
1:59
80
2Kills to Be Resistant
3:25
80
3Running
3:41
80
4Seeing It
3:31
83
5Guess There
3:00
80
6Blame
3:23
83
7Focused
4:30
78
8Not the Way
2:35
85
9Spiral
2:31
83
10Either Way
2:17
83
11You Could Be Wrong
2:42
80
12Hate and Control
4:13
78
Total Length: 37 minutes

Year End Lists

#20/The Alternative
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Added on: August 1, 2017