- Finally—the straight-up Bullion pop album we've all been waiting for.
- When Nathan Jenkins moved out of London in 2018, he had some stuff to think about. His destination, Lisbon, was a romantic choice, partly inspired by Alain Tanner's 1983 cult classic In The White City. There he would follow in the footsteps of Tanner's protagonist, a sailor who becomes tired of the engine room and jumps ship, eventually finding solitude in "the white city"—or, as Jenkins frames it, a lost person "coming here in need of some change they're not necessarily aware of."
Whatever change Jenkins made in Lisbon, once he was back in London (thanks to the pandemic) he started to lean more assertively into writing fully fledged pop songs. Cue the title track from his 2020 EP We Had a Good Time, or any of his works with Carly Rae Jepsen, Ben Howard, Westerman or Avalon Emerson. His new album via Ghostly International, Affection, is a tapestry of sepia-muted reds, browns, idyllic white and dusty cream, with bursts of primary and secondary colour—royal blue, seville orange, brilliant green—just like In The White City and other films and music from the '70s and '80s. The pop music of those eras is pivotal to the sound Bullion has honed over the last two decades—"pop-not-slop"–songs with musical richness, light years away from formulaic TikTok fodder. From an artist who often lurks behind the scenes, Affection is the defining project many have been waiting for.
Jenkins' songwriting style is candid on Affection. Even the simplest vocal arrangements feel like lush ballads in his hands, like on the title track where Jenkins laments "How many love you like I really do / oohh affection" in time to Fatima Yamaha-baiting synths. But there are songs with drawn-out narratives too, and the traditional songwriting styles suit Jenkins just fine. The middle eight on "The Flooding"—"Don't go, don't ever, it's too late / I waited as long as you wanted to wait / The red light in hindsight meant the party was over" is itching to be belted out into a hairbrush. The epic chorus on "Cavalier" is a time machine back to the dance floor of an indie sleaze club night, begging to be sung in a circle, arms around shoulders, six triple vodka Red Bulls down.
There's no messing around on this album, which serves up its catchiest moment first: "A City's Never" with Panda Bear from Animal Collective, a song about finding "inner vision"—accessing your own wisdom and intuition, connected to the time both artists spent living in Lisbon. The opening line "You came in a vision to me" almost hopscotches alongside nimble guitar chords and a pacey disco kick, which makes that line an instant earworm. "World_Train" featuring French vocalist Charlotte Adigéry is another big tune, but for different reasons. The violin melodies sound like tooting trains and its cantering country thrum recalls the surly, anthemic quality of "Blue Pedro," where Bullion chopped up a sea shanty into an underground hit. Sitting just past the midpoint, "World_Train" brings a lick of humour after a deeper moment in "Cinch," where Jenkins coos and croons over a simple four-four drum pattern and swooping pads, using his voice as an added melody element like he did on We Had a Good Time's "Cinema Down."
For anyone that doesn't know Bullion, his duet with Carly Rae Jepsen on "Rare" might bring him some new listeners. This song could've easily landed one of Jepsen's albums: the powdery delay on the snares, strumming bass guitars and delicate keys are all Jenkins trademarks that can be heard on Jepsen's The Loneliest Time LP. It feels intimate when Bullion and Jepsen harmonise on the main refrain "love let me in / deep in the heart," which highlights the nuanced experience of finding new love–all the fears, doubts and questions about leaning in that come from both sides. Bullion also captures this kind of intimacy on "Open Hands," which documents the learning curve of going away with a new partner for the first time. But it's also easy to imagine the chorus soundtracking the first kiss in a coming-of-age teen movie, as Bullion intones "open hands draw ever closer" over jangly guitars in the chorus.
Affection, the feeling, is a nuanced thing next to the overflowing passion of love. Jenkins captures that in pop songs that swerve sugary sweetness in favour of textural and emotional richness and complexity. Up until now, he's evaded the spotlight to be an instrumental figure working behind the scenes in alternative pop music. In electronic music as a whole, he's one for the heads that know. Affection is everything one would want from a pop album—the way it shimmies along with catchy beats, whistle-along melodies and hooks that easily live rent-free in the long-term memory banks. The Jenkins touch here is an unmistakable charm that could very well nudge Affection into "cult album" territory.
Tracklist01. A City's Never feat. Panda Bear
02. Affection
03. Rare feat. Carly Rae Jepsen
04. Your Father
05. The Flooding
06. Cinch
07. World_Train feat. Charlotte Adigéry
08. Cavalier
09. Once, In A Borrowed Car
10. Open Hands
11. 40 Waves
12. Hard To Do