New Bums

A collaboration between two respected indie musicians, New Bums offer a spare, compelling sound rooted in folk, indie, and lo-fi traditions. New Bums' music often consists of just two voices and two acoustic guitars with the elements layered in a way to favor both their fluid melodic ideas and a gentle drift informed by psychedelia. The duo conjured a minimal, dreamlike sound on their first album, 2014's Voices in a Rented Room, while 2021's Last Time I Saw Grace had a richer tone built from similar ingredients. New Bums were formed in 2013 by the ever-busy guitarist/songwriter Ben Chasny (known best for his work as Six Organs of Admittance but also as a member of Rangda, Comets on Fire, and many others) along with Donovan Quinn, a key member of the psychedelic folk outfit Skygreen Leopards. The duo got together to form the minimal project, basing their tunes around dual vocals and spare instrumentation, turning in a skewed and far more cerebral look at the tradition of American folk-blues through a particularly cracked lens. After a few sessions of writing and recording, the band was invited by Bill Callahan to open a week or two of shows on his 2013 tour. New Bums' debut release came in the form of a two-song 7" entitled Slim Volume in late 2013, followed early the next year by debut full-length Voices in a Rented Room, both released on Drag City. Chasny and Quinn's other commitments put New Bums on hiatus until 2021, when they issued their second LP, Last Time I Saw Grace, which boasted a fuller sound that turned up the psychedelic undertow of the debut while maintaining their intimate musical sensibility.
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