REVIEW: Broncho - Natural Pleasure

Broncho's Natural Pleasure is perfectly described by its name. From the slightly blurry image of a bee on a flower as the cover, to the sunny, blissfully fuzzed-out tones within, everything here screams to an album with a feeling and a vibe in mind more than anything else. The quartet from Tulsa is comprised of Ryan Lindsey (vocals,guitar), Ben King (guitar), Penny Pitchlynn (bass), and Nathan Price (drums), and this release marks their fifth as a group. Having slightly abandoned the rockier, more insistent end of their sound in favour of the corner of their sonic playground best saved for teary-eyed daydreaming in the sun, the band have returned to soundtrack your hot girl summer break ups and main character moments with excellence.

Kicking off the album is 'Imagination', which marks the start of this dreamy exploration of Broncho's most vibe-based release yet. Taking plenty from shoegaze and dream pop, with a healthy dose of American 2000's indie and a little bit of British art rock a la Radiohead, the group are fusing a number of things into one magically cohesive piece of music. This flows seamlessly into 'Funny', injecting some self-aware lyrics and lightheartedness into proceedings.

The path takes a slight detour across tracks three and four, as 'Cool' and 'Get Gone' up the intensity ever so slightly. The drums become a little more overt in the mix, and this one-two combo is certainly the most energetic part of the album - albeit this is not saying much, as the band are still cool as a cucumber even here. Without the pure lucid daydream feel of the first two, it allows the listener to embed themselves further into this glorious world that's being fashioned in sonic form, and serves to set us up to lose ourselves into the soundscapes to come.

The late afternoon sun is still beating down heavily as we arrive at 'I Swear', which pairs wonderfully with later track 'You Got Me' in how casually and desperately both tug at the heartstrings. Ryan Lindsey's vocals are at their most comforting here, making for a sound akin to being hugged softly and warmly by a dear friend or loved one. The lyric in the latter of "You got your mom, and you got me" is pristinely beautiful, and can and will bring you to tears if you so let it.

The album continues in similar fashion throughout the rest of the songs, with small detours towards the towns of pure indie on 'Think I Pass', folk on 'Way into Magic', and honky-tonk on album closer 'Dreamin', whilst never really leaving the sun-drenched road they've driven on all album. As the forty-odd minutes of music make their way to a close, you might well be stuck deciding between crying because it's over or smiling because it happened - but instead of choosing, why not do both? This album deserves that much.

Over twelve tracks, 41 minutes, and countless gorgeous moments, Broncho have painted themselves as veritable masters of sunny weather hope and melancholy, with a dash of blissful elation and a side of love, by way of nature, friends, family and the best bits of being alive. If this was the soundtrack to a film, you would be torn in two emotionally by the end, weeping whilst laughing and smiling and totally unsure of how to feel except to feel as much as possible. If you need to feel, please listen to Natural Pleasure. You won't be let down.

Score: 9/10

Natural Pleasures was released on April 25th 2025.

Words: Jake Longhurst

Photos: Broncho