''Bronco'' is the second studio album by South African singer-songwriter

Orville Peck Daniel Pitout (born January 6, 1988), known professionally as Orville Peck, is a South African country musician based in the United States and Canada — and widely known for often wearing a mask and not showing his face publicly. He released ...

, released on April 8, 2022, by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. It was nominated for Country Album of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2023 The Juno Awards of 2023 was a music awards ceremony that was held on 13 March 2023 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta.2022 Polaris Music Prize The 2022 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 19, 2022. The longlist was announced on June 14, with the shortlist following on July 14. Shortlist Longlist Polaris Heritage Prize Nominees for the Slaigh ...

."Here are all the 2023 Juno nominees"

CBC Music CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

, January 31, 2023.

Background and promotion

In 2019, Orville Peck released his debut studio album ''

Pony A pony is a type of small horse, usually measured under a specified height at maturity. Ponies often have thicker coats, manes and tails, compared to larger horses, and proportionally shorter legs, wider barrels, heavier , thicker necks and s ...

'' to critical acclaim. He followed it up with the EP ''

Show Pony ''Show Pony'' is the first extended play by South African country music artist Orville Peck, and a companion to his debut studio album ''Pony''. Announced by Peck as a bridge between ''Pony'' and the next full-length album, it was released on Au ...

'' (2020), intended as a bridge between his first and second albums. On February 7, 2022, Peck dropped a trailer for the album on his

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel announcing the release dates for the album and its first chapter. In lieu of singles, Peck opted to release the albums in three "chapters", a choice that earned comparison to

Beach House Beach House is an American indie music, indie band formed in Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore in 2004 by current members Victoria Legrand (vocals, keyboards) and Alex Scally (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals, drum programming). Their work is char ...

's promotional campaign for ''

Once Twice Melody ''Once Twice Melody'' is the eighth studio album by the American dream pop duo Beach House. It was released on February 18, 2022, through Sub Pop, with its four chapters being released throughout four months starting November 10, 2021. A follow-u ...

''. The first chapter was released on February 11, 2022, and contained the songs "Daytona Sand", "Outta Time", "C'mon Baby Cry", and "Any Turn". "C'Mon Baby Cry" was accompanied by a video featuring cameos from comedian

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, actress and musician. In her Stand-up comedy, stand-up routines she critiques social and political problems, especially about race and sexuality. She starred in the Ame ...

and drag queen

Kornbread Jeté Kornbread Jeté is the stage name of Demoria Elise Williams (born January 14, 1992), an American drag queen best known for competing on season 14 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' in 2022. Early life and education Williams was born and raised in Colum ...

. A video for "Daytona Sand" was released on March 5, 2022. A second chapter was released March 11, 2022, containing the songs "The Curse of the Blackened Eye", "Kalahari Down", "Trample Out the Days", and "Hexie Mountains". "The Curse of the Blackened Eye" was accompanied by a music video featuring '' The Walking Dead'' actor

Norman Reedus Norman Mark Reedus (born January 6, 1970) is an American actor. He made his acting debut in the 1990s, starring in the role of Murphy MacManus in ', followed by supporting roles in successful box office films ''8MM,'' '' Blade II'', and ''Amer ...

. The music video for "Hexie Mountains" was released on March 24, 2022, featuring Peck's close friend

Riley Keough Danielle Riley Keough ( ; born May 29, 1989) is an American actress. Born into the Presley family, she is the oldest daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and the eldest grandchild of Elvis Presley. She initially started her career as a model from 200 ...

. Peck will promote the album with the ''Bronco Tour'' across North America and Oceania throughout 2022.

Composition

''Bronco'' is a

country rock Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, outlaw country, and

alt-country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

album with elements of

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

psychedelia Psychedelia usually refers to a Aesthetics, style or aesthetic that is resembled in the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience produced by certain psychoactive substances. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic ...

, bluegrass,

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

, and countrypolitan. When discussing the sound of the album, Peck noted the influence of 60s and 70s

, specifically mentioning bands

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1965. One of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the San Francisco Bay Area, ...

The Mamas & the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were an American folk rock vocal group that recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968, with a brief reunion in 1971. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. Formed in New York C ...

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

and

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, guitarist and songwriter who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Until his departure in 1968, he was Pink Floyd's frontman and primary songwriter, ...

and South African folk artists

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba ( , ; 4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, ja ...

and

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and f ...

alongside the "flower child" country influences of

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973), known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist. He recorded with the International Submarine Band, the Byrds, and the Flying Bu ...

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

and

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

Critical reception

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a

normalized Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, ''Bronco'' received an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

score of 81, based on nine reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Mark Deming of ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' commended Peck's lyricism, saying "He has no trouble writing songs that have the dramatic sweep his

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

meets

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...

voice demands, and as a lyricist, he's an effective storyteller who doesn't shy away from a dollop of melodrama while still making his characters ring true. The artfully woven queer subtext of Pony is present and accounted for, while the universality of his lonely cowboy's mingled desires for independence and companionship will make this speak to all sorts of listeners." ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' writer Harry West praised Peck's musical growth, saying that "all 15 tracks feel sonically muscular and more mature than those of its predecessor" and called it "wholly modern and proudly queer". Elly Watson of '' DIY'' opined that ''Bronco'', "flits between theatricality and poignancy, almost every song sounding like it could score a Western's pivotal moment with ease." ''

Gigwise ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site featuring music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 in ...

'' contributor Miles Cooke wrote that "With this bold, brash and liberated second album full of love and loss, cowboy romanticism, California sorrow and candid homosexuality, the enigmatic desperado continues his rise with a greater confidence and warmth than before. Though a touch sappy in places and musically underwhelming in others, Bronco is overall another triumph for Orville Peck." ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

''s Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the album's production but criticized Peck's vocals, saying "The emphasis on the rhinestone icon inevitably highlights Bronco's one failing: The album would be better if Peck could actually sing. Peck may be a master vocalizer capable of wringing maximum ardor out of a song, but he alternates between a portentous mumble and a throaty bellow, the kind of histrionics that were once the speciality of Elvis impersonators." By contrast, ''

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic (abbreviated as Sputnik) is a music website that publishes music reviews and news entries. The site hosts both professional and amateur content, covering metal, punk, indie, rock, hip-hop, pop and other styles. Its reviews are us ...

'' contributor Matthias praised his voice, opining "Primarily a stunningly low baritone with a penchant for a pretty falsetto, Peck is now making full use of his range, with belting, riffs, and that perfect falsetto appearing in song after song, with fifteen songs of fifty minutes of that voice arguably being not enough." '' Dork'' contributor Steven Loftin said that Peck is "able to convey with the simplest touch a wealth of feeling as if he's reaching deep inside your heart and it's you he's bringing to life, but as easily as he does this, he leaves you in the cold of night wanting more." The album received a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

nomination for Country Album of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2023 The Juno Awards of 2023 was a music awards ceremony that was held on 13 March 2023 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta.

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

– vocals, electric guitar (tracks 1, 7, 8), acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 3–4, 6, 9–10, 13–15), percussion (tracks 1–2, 5, 8, 13, 15), mandolin (track 2), piano (track 2), celesta (track 5), harmonica (track 7), keyboards (track 11–12) * Kris Bowering – drums (tracks 1–3, 6–10, 12, 13, 15), percussion (tracks 6–9, 11, 13) *Emmanuel Echem – trumpet (track 6) *Laura Epling – violin (tracks 7, 12) *

Duncan Jay Hennings FRIGS are a Canadian indie rock band from Toronto, Ontario, whose 2018 album ''Basic Behaviour'' was longlisted for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize. The band members are vocalist Bria Salmena, guitarist Duncan Hay Jennings, bassist Lucas Savatti and ...

– electric guitar (tracks 1–13, 15), keyboards (tracks 2–3), organ (tracks 7, 10, 15), piano (15) * Tobias Jesso Jr. – acoustic guitar (track 5) *

Jay Joyce John Joseph "Jay" Joyce is an American record producer, songwriter and session musician. In the 1990s, Joyce, with Chris Feinstein and Brad Pemberton, recorded and toured as Iodine. He also fronted the band Bedlam, featured on the soundtrack to ...

– keyboards (tracks 1–8, 10, 13), electric guitar (tracks 2, 5, 11),

omnichord The Omnichord is an electronic musical instrument introduced in 1981 by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation. It allows users to play distinctive harp-like arpeggios produced through an electronic strum plate, simulating the experience of ...

(track 2), percussion (track 3), programming (track 5) *Austin Hoke – cello (tracks 7, 12) *Jordan Lehning – string arrangement (tracks 7, 12) *Nicole Neely – viola (tracks 7, 12) *

Kyle Connolly Hand Drawn Dracula (HDD) is a Toronto-based independent record label. Artists who have released music on the label include Beliefs, Breeze, Brian Borcherdt, Bruce Peninsula (band), Bruce Peninsula, By Divine Right, Chastity, Dusted, Julie Fader, ...

– bass (tracks 1–13, 15) *

Noam Pikelny Noam David Pikelny (born February 27, 1981) is an American banjoist. He is a member of the groups Punch Brothers, Mighty Poplar and was previously in Leftover Salmon as well as the John Cowan Band. Pikelny is a nine-time Grammy Award nominee, ...

– banjo (tracks 6, 11) *

Bria Salmena FRIGS are a Canadians, Canadian indie rock band from Toronto, Ontario, whose 2018 album ''Basic Behaviour'' was longlisted for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize. The band members are vocalist Bria Salmena, guitarist Duncan Hay Jennings, bassist Lucas S ...

– background vocals (tracks 1–10, 12), electric guitar (tracks 1–4, 6, 8–10, 13, 15), acoustic guitar (tracks 7, 9), keyboards (track 11), featured vocals (track 15) *Luke Schneider – steel guitar (tracks 2–3, 5, 7, 8, 14, 15) *

Chris Stracey Bag Raiders are an Australian electronic music duo founded in 2006 by Jack Glass and Chris Stracey. They play keyboards, drums, and act as vocalists, producers, and remixers, with Stracey additionally playing guitar, violin and piano. They also ...

– organ (track 5) *Kristin Weber – violin (tracks 7, 12)

Technical

*Jason Hall – mixing engineer, recording engineer (tracks 1–5, 7–9, 11–15) *Jaxon Hargrove – assistant engineer *

– mixing engineer *Jimmy Mansfield – assistant engineer *Andrew Mendelson – mastering engineer (tracks 1–13, 15), assistant engineer (track 7) *Pete Min – recording engineer (track 5) *Chris Stracey – recording engineer (track 5)

Charts

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 2022 albums Albums produced by Jay Joyce Columbia Records albums Orville Peck albums Sub Pop albums