WHY BONNIE

90 in November, the first full-length LP from Texas quintet Why Bonnie, crashes into existencewith a squeal of feedback and a burst of distorted guitar. It’s a dynamic introduction to a moreraw-edged indie sound from a band who have matured from bedroom dream pop into asophisticated rock act, their evolving sound a reflection of the journey undertaken by songwriterBlair Howerton on this vividly rendered collection of songs.

As much a product of songwriter Howerton’s love for the intimate songwriting of fellow TexansTownes Van Zandt and Blaze Foley as it is her affection for the alt-rock of the Lemonheads andthe Replacements, the eccentric pop of Sparklehorse, and “definitely Sheryl Crow,” 90 inNovember is a meditation on the pains and pleasures of nostalgia and a lesson in learning howto look back at the people, places, and experiences that have shaped us, with room for bothunvarnished honesty and rose-tinted melancholy. 90 in November is about “coming to termswith your past to accept all of the sweet and all of the bitter,” says Howerton.

The songs for 90 in November were mostly written in Brooklyn, New York, where Howertonmoved from Austin in 2019. Already in the midst of a major life change, Howerton’s feeling ofbeing between worlds was compounded when quarantine hit and she found herself, like somany others, stuck in her apartment—about as far away from the wide-open spaces of Texas asone can possibly get. It was in this environment that she began to write songs parsing out thecomplicated, mixed emotions associated with building a new home while attempting to makesense of the one she had left behind.

As a result, 90 in November is a trip through Howerton’s inner world, but it’s also a road tripthrough Texas. Often it is both at once. The songs are full of poetic, cinematic lyrics that flashlike colorful scenes glimpsed from the window of a car as it barrels along an interstate highwaycutting through the Lone Star State, each one a road stop revealing a different facet ofHowerton’s experience.