Bahamas
Sad Hunk
Release Date: Oct 9, 2020
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Alternative Singer/Songwriter
Record label: Republic
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Album Review: Sad Hunk by Bahamas
Great, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Afie Jurvanen's fifth studio album as Bahamas, 2020's Sad Hunk, catches the adept Canadian singer/songwriter in a wry mood, ruminating on what it's like to grow into middle age in an indie rock scene that often prizes youthful cool over the kind of lived-in wisdom that comes with adult life. A longtime presence in Toronto, Jurvanen made his name backing artful performers like Feist and Jason Collett before earning his own acclaim with literate, folky albums like 2009's Pink Strat and 2012's Barchords. However, as with 2018's Juno Award-winning Earthtones, Sad Hunk (a cheeky nickname Jurvanen's wife gave him after seeing a particularly brooding and stylish press photo he'd posed for) finds Jurvanen recontextualizing this earnest image, balancing his earthy, acoustic roots with forays into organic '70s soul.
Based on rating 7/10
"Is there some trick to being happy?" asks Bahamas (a. k. a.
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