Frannyis an emotive and vulnerable song that reconciles the guilt and acceptance of a 33 year old man who attempts to recall the life and love of the mother he lost when he was nine.
Tenets: principles, convictions, the core essentials. The first studio album from Austin synth pop duo BUHU is an excavation of sorts, as lead singer/producer Jeremy Rogers mines the seminal aspects and events of his life, stripping it all down and laying himself bare. It’s a risky effort; no scrims of hipster irony to hide behind here. Take it or leave it, Rogers seems to be saying throughout. Here I am, this is me. Something about the album calls to mind the scene in Spike Jonze’s Adaptation, when Donald Kaufman gently, profoundly rebukes his twin brother: “You are what you love, not what loves you.”
Love—and loss—are in abundance here. Two women play vastly different roles in what proves to be a cohesive narrative: the first, a new lover who’s shaken Rogers’ foundation and caused him to reflect, sometimes unfavorably, on the person he is or once was; the second, his late mother, who he lost at a tragically young age. These women are objects only in the sense that they’re objects of his affection and catalysts for self-reflection. His respect for each is palpable and complex. Tenets is, in essence, a love letter to them both.
If one word best describes BUHU’s first studio album, it might be verklempt; Rogers often sounds overcome, overwhelmed. When he’s in love, he can’t believe his luck. When he grieves, he grieves to the gills. It’s a brave, bold offering, anchored against the threat of sentimentality by the sureness of compositional instinct and production chops oozing out of every musical nook and cranny.
Tenets was produced alongside Danny Reisch (Shearwater, Bayonne, Wye Oak) at Good Danny’s in Lockhart, TX, and mastered by Jeff Lipton (Andrew Bird, Bon Iver, Arcade Fire) at Peerless Mastering in Boston, MA. Tenets released September 5, 2018, on FMF Records.