Willie J Healey - Bunny - The Singles, Reviewed

Willie J Healey - Bunny - The Singles, Reviewed

Willie J Healey honestly isn’t someone I paid a huge amount of attention to up until fairly recently. When his album ‘Twin Heavy’ came out in August 2020, it was getting a lot of very good reviews from people I know, but I wasn’t really to interested, mainly because it’s apparent “retro rock” sound kind of put me in mind of a lot of really naff, corny rock revival bands like Greta Van Fleet, or maybe Arctic Monkeys more recently playing about with glam, and so I decided to keep my distance. However, after finally giving it a listen last year, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Willie does indeed play with a fair few retro guitar pop and glam-rock influences, his sound being fairly described as, shall we say, quite Beatles-y, but with a liveliness and a sense of happiness and fun that was basically absent with his contemporaries, and so since then, he’s stayed on my radar. So now, three years on, Willie is set to release his new album ‘Bunny’ on August 24th, and so of course I was going to check the singles out, and there are quite a few.

Woke Up Smiling

For an opening track on album like this it does a really good job at setting the stall out, so to speak. It just seems to typify a real sense of jubilation and joy, which is really enjoyable. Yeah sure, it’s kinda cheesy, but I find it quite endearing at the same time. The combination of the acoustic and Hawaiian guitars sound really cool and psychedelic and breezy, but also with a degree of cool swagger, and the rhythm section, while obviously not bashing along, does keep a very nice groove, but with a subtle funk and a danceability to it which works nicely, the touches of tambourines work well, along with a prominent, very melodic bassline which sounds great. Kind of linking to what I said earlier, as corny as they might be, the touches of things like glockenspiel and piano contribute well to the track’s really optimistic vibe, and the guitar solo’s really enjoyable as well. Lyrically and vocally, Willie really understood the assignment, his slightly understated, but very catchy, expressive and boyish lead vocals work a treat, with some really nice, exuberant, joyful melodies throughout, and the use of female group vocals, particularly on the bridge with the pianos, does really well to add an extra sense of grand scale. Of course the lyrics themselves play into the track’s happy vibe, with a very simple message: I’m so in love, I was in a really bad mood yesterday, but I remembered how in love I was and now I feel great, and it’s communicated very well. Is this track kinda corny and cheesy? I suppose so. But it’s just so infectiously happy it’s undeniable.

Dreams

This I think is the track where you get a real sense of the majority of the sound of this album, making it a decent choice for the second single. Rather than the Beatles-y guitar pop he usually dabbles in, this track sees him starting to experiment more with funk and Motown, and I’m absolutely here for it. Starting out with a very subtle, dinky, 70s drum machine, it’s very quickly added to be a great strutting disco beat and classically funky, fuzzy bassline. Right from the off it has a serious sense of swagger. Adding to that, the combination of wah-wah guitars, electric guitars and clavs sound great, keeping things interesting, constantly moving and changing, sounding bright, catchy and vibrant all the while. The mix is very well done as well, giving all the melodic elements ample space to shine. As we move into the bridge, the horn passages (also present in the outro) are certainly a welcome addition, and the extra, cleaner funk guitars add a nice glossy shine. Vocally it’s just as good. Maybe it’s the fact that there are multiple refrains, but it just feels like you’re getting earworm after earworm after earworm and I love it, the implementation of female vocals working to great effect, bolstering Wille’s more hushed vocals and already catchy melodies, while also given the chance to shine on their own in the bridge. As well as being supremely infectious throughout, and having an enjoyably care-free, breezy quality, Willie’s verses, and indeed some of his refrains, seem to be injected with a subtle sense of disco diva-ism and drama in some of the deliveries and vocal runs he goes for that for the most part works very well. Funky, feel-good, catchy, great stuff.

Tiger Woods

This lead single is what I would maybe call the first real bonafide ballad on the album, and I’m really really liking it. The optimum word for this track, funnily enough, is “dreamy.” The instrumental shows this so well. The drum machine once again is a bit dinky, but even when the bigger acoustic drums are added, they still manage to balance it with the electric timbres which is really effective, along with it having a slick laid back groove. There’s a really nice, flexible bassline going underneath this track, the subtle hazy synth pads and sparing shots of funk guitars and guitar atmospheres are utilised very well, coming to the fore on the chorus in a very cool way, and particularly the electronic pianos just sound so tranquil and beautiful, as does the rest of the instrumentation, even when the guitars and synths are more prominent like in the chorus when they’re more layered, or the bridge with the solo section. For me the electric pianos are the musical MVP of this track though. Vocally, as he tends to, Willie fits right in, this time for most of the track making use of a light, airy, falsetto croon, which despite its subtlety, does have some undeniably catchy qualities that fit the track’s psychedelic vibe. His vocal delivery also has a palpable lovestruck emotion behind it, linking into the lyrics with him again detailing how happy he is in the relationship he’s in despite financial and emotional issues. As I’ve said before, it’s kinda corny, but it’s endearing all the same. Furthermore, the utilisation of female vocals on this track is a particular highlight. Not only do the soulful group portions greatly supplement Willie’s dramatic, emotional and catchy vocal melodies on the chorus, but having them play the part of the female in the second verse is done very cleverly. Even the hushed spoken word bridge works well here. Normally I would find stuff like this quite annoying and cringey but the way the female vocalist delivers this spoken aside over this serene musical backdrop doesn’t feel the slightest bit out of place. So to me this track proves pretty definitively, whether it’s a funky banger or a soulful ballad, he manages to pull them both off just as well.

Thank You (Ft. Jamie T)

This one brings the album back to a sense of whimsy and fun. which works very well, and certainly makes sense given the feature. The bright, glockenspiel style melodies, and subtle keys and guitars actually work quite well in conjunction with the wobbly bass and strutting drums, along with the touches of flute and extra percussion like bongos giving it that extra breeziness. It’s just a great piece of disco-style funk. As well as that, the extra touches of electric pianos over the top of Jamie’s guest verse adds a very nice psychedelic, pillowy dimension, and the more prominent guitar leads and string sections work an absolute treat as well. Kind of hits in the middle zone between being a straight up dance track and a ballad, but does so very effectively. Willie’s vocal delivery is still as mild mannered and melodic as it’s been so far, but also seemingly with an extra sense of renewed swagger and confidence somewhat, linking into the lyrics about how a drum machine gifted to him by Jamie helped to reinvigorate his creativity and get him back making music, perhaps after the rough time in lockdown, but also form a friendship between Willie and one of heroes. Jamie carries the torch in a lyrical sense, with his lyrics divulging, in a typically British way, the nature of friendship, how important friends can be, and how you get out of them what you put in (“if you pay in peanuts then all you’ll get is pork scratchings”). Again, I know that Willie and Jamie T writing a song about friendship sounds really cheesy, but I’m telling you they carry it off, and while his very accented vocals did put me off at first, and to an extent still do a little bit, I do like a lot of the effortlessly casual melodies Jamie puts out there on his verse. How could I talk about this track without again talking about the female vocals. Not only do they deliver a great solo chorus, but their performance on the bridge is very soulful as well, and they act as a very nice vocal contrast in the backs of both Willie and Jamie’s verses. So not only is the instrumental really cool and summery and fun, but vocally and lyrically for the vast majority, yet again everyone’s firing on all cylinders.

Sure Feels Good

This is definitely the most high energy single of the lot so far, and it does really well because of it. For starters the rhythm section on this sounds particularly good, with a tight, snappy drum beat with some decent percussive flourishes and cool, prominent, funky bassline to go along with it. Definitely gives it that splash of 70s swagger which is pretty nice. But then, when the combination of the very bright, sharp, yet melodic lead guitars and additional supplementary wah-wah textures, it definitely does feel like there’s some McCartney worship at play here, which is my mind it’s not a bad thing, because it sounds really cool and distinctive, while still having a palpable influence. The part after the verses that I’ll call the “ballad break” sounds absolutely fantastic, with these tranquil, psychedelic guitar lines, along with some really great drum beats and some extra touches of nice, graceful pianos in the mix too. Thank you very much. To end the track off with a bang, the crescendo in the last minute and a half of the track throws everything at it: bongos, pianos, organs, group female vocals, multiple overlapping guitar lines, almost g-funk style synths, and it makes for a really exhilarating, psychedelic finish. Vocally Willie definitely seems to have a bit more fire in him this time, perhaps appropriately so, and it makes for yet another very strong performance. He’s not shouting or anything of course, but he’s really belting some of the melodies out, particularly on the verses, making their catchiness all the more apparent. Saying that though, he can also effortlessly switch to that classic hushed balladeer approach at a moment’s notice, and obviously it sounds good, particularly in the break. While the soulful female vocals are used more sparingly for the majority of the track, their utilisation as a kind of call and response or echo of Willie’s vocals is very effective, and their more prominent role in the outro is fantastic. Very Floyd-esque. Of course the lyrics do well to reflect the quite chipper, generally lively vibe of the track, with Willie talking about how after a difficult day, he likes nothing better than settling down and chilling out with the person he loves, while also making it clear he respects their sense of ambition. It’s not Shakespeare, but it’s not supposed to be and again, as far as lovey dovey lyrics go, it’s pretty good. It seems to operate from the same template as the previous tracks, but with a palpable sense of swagger, energy, and exuberance thrown in, which is always nice.

Little Sister

This definitely follows in the last track’s footsteps stylistically, giving us yet another help of what I’ll call “retro glam swagger rock.” It’s maybe the most stylistically close track to ‘Twin Heavy’ out of the lot. The very wiry plucked guitars and shots of brighter offbeat chords again serve really well to give it that strut and swagger, helped no end by the great, motoring rhythm section. Despite the pretty straight up and down rock sound the track aims for, Willie does still make sure to incorporate some pretty nice, bright, and indeed some damn funky guitar licks, in addition to the very soulful organ chords and electric piano progressions, that work very nicely as a bit of sonic variation. I would say it’s maybe the driest track so far, but I don’t mean that in a bad way, simply that for the most part it substitutes psychedelia for swagger, although there is perhaps a slightly Chinese sounding melodic tinge to the overlapping guitar solo which I really enjoy. There’s definitely a slight rocking, late era Beatles influence here, perhaps also like The Doors or other 60s but maybe less heavy. That real strutting psych rock kinda feel. It’s really cool, and the dreamy keyboards the track coast out on sound beautiful. Although there are parts of the track that very tastefully implement some soulful and psychedelic touches, whether it’s the again great, soulful backing vocals working great to double up the melodies, or the dreamy descending vocal harmonies in the bridge. Speaking of vocals, Willie is easily at his most animated, making use of his vocal versatility and slightly zany glam-isms to great effect, with many different delivery changes, from uppity and melodic, to projected and dramatic, to, again, more zany, animated, and flamboyant, all of which work very well. As the icing on the cake, it’s yet another pretty endearing set of lyrics, which sees Willie observing the younger generations, in this case his little sister, taking action and fighting for a positive change in their lives, and while he acknowledges they could land themselves in trouble, and that it might not pay off, he’s ultimately supportive of their endeavours (“if you ain’t living how you want to, you’re just as good as dead”). Again, it’s a pretty endearing sentiment, and as I say, the icing on the cake of another really good track. Definitely one that will please the returning fans.

So, what can we expect from the album as a whole? Well I’d say this gives us a pretty good indication of its quality, given we’ve heard nearly half of it. Really, I’d just say get ready to here more of the same great songwriting you’ve come to expect from Willie, but put through a soul and funk-tinged, psychedelic lens, that also comes part and parcel with a great sense of fun, an infectiously happy, uplifting vibe, and some nice, sometimes romantic, and endearing, if slightly corny lyrical sentiments. It may not be to the taste of all the people who are fans of his older, “rockier” stuff, but to me, it’s sounding great, and it’s a sonic transition he’s made sound completely natural, which is not easy. I would also say that this is quite possibly the best example of genuinely happy music you’ll hear this year, which makes for a very welcome change in my eyes.