Fort Worth native Bonnie Bishop brings a certain calm to The Walk, her studio follow-up to House Sessions, Vol. 1 and her critically lauded 2016 album Ain’t Who I Was. In fact, there’s a steady, at times sulking, plod to The Walk. It’s almost certainly thanks to the influence of producer Steve Jordan, whom Bishop sought out in part thanks to the sound and feel of the drums on some of his notable work (John Mayer, Buddy Guy). The average song on The Walk clocks in at over six minutes. In an industry where songs are getting shorter and shorter, it seems like an intentional rebuke of trends. But the real magic of the record is how you forget about time altogether when listening. Bishop has a knack for lulling listeners into a spell with her carefully chosen chorus arrangements. Where she resorts to repetition, it’s in service of the “vibe.” Take the title track, for example—the lyrical “journey” of the song may be over by minute three, but Bishop and Jordan carve out an entrancing path of “woahs” and chorus repetitions that, for lack of a better metaphor, escort the listener further down Bishop’s own self-reflection. Bishop’s vocal shines on the album’s joyful exultations (“Every Happiness Under The Sun” and “Song Don’t Fail Me Now” in particular), but she’s at her most compelling when she’s far less sure of herself. “I Don’t Like to Be Alone” almost didn’t make the cut until Jordan insisted. And yet its vulnerability makes it potentially one of the best songs of Bishop’s career.
