Band Review: Bonaventure

Again, this is a band that followed me on Twitter, leading me to follow and listen to them. Initially I thought they were fine, but they weren’t making much of an impression on me, and then I had a very bad reaction to their video for “Silent Night”.

What’s odd to me now is that I can’t find the video at all. It’s not on their own site or Youtube. I may not have looked hard enough, but I remember seeing a lot of compliments tweeted about it.

I am going to try and see if I can explain what bothered me about the video, and then connect that with how the band does not work for me.

First of all, their performance of the song is completely fine. I have listened to it a few times via Spotify as I have been preparing to write this. From a vocal and instrumental point of view, the band is fine.

The video shows a girl whose father is disabled, which embarrasses her, and she acts out at school and he is continuously supportive, and then, and I could be getting parts of this wrong, she tries to kill herself, and he donates his blood for that, and she lives and he dies. Merry Christmas!

Granted, for that song, an allegory for a father’s sacrificial love, and ungrateful children, may be appropriate, but it was just kind of ugly. It felt horrible and depressing, and beyond that it felt shamelessly manipulative. And yes, I totally cried. That was the intent, and it succeeded, but it felt too manufactured and I resented it. Again, a lot of people loved it.

So, how does this relate to the band as a whole? I think my real issue is some artificiality, and I believe the reason for that is that they are trying to convey a depth and a meaning that they do not really feel. I would also say that about “Our Excuse”, one of the tracks from their album.

I don’t mean to imply that the band has no depth, but I do feel they lack a strong sense of identity. There is an unevenness of tone and sound. It’s not that a band can’t do a lot of experimenting and still be them, but ultimately it doesn’t matter how many times I have listened, I have no grip on who Bonaventure is. 

I would say that my two favorites are “These Shoes” and “Tiny Fraction”, but I could totally believe that they were by different bands. Some songs sound a little bit like there is is a Irish pub influence (ala Mumford and Sons), like “The Forgotten Waltz”,  and some songs are very techno, like “Restless”, and it is interesting that they suddenly go French in “Charmant Paysage”, but it is all disjointed. Interesting riffs appear, and then don’t necessarily feel of a piece with the rest of the song.

Now, identities can be found. On their web site there is a new video “I Dare You” that was not on Spotify, and it seems to be heading in the right direction. The video itself conveys a mood without really getting anywhere, but that doesn’t mean the band won’t. So, a little disappointing, but there’s potential, and I hope they realize it.

http://www.bonaventuremusic.com/