New from Alicia Bognanno and Bully: ‘Where to Start,’ A Grunge-y, Punky Bathroom Freak-Out of Cathartic Frustration

There’s a lot of angst behind “Where to Start,” the new song from Bully premiered on Thursday.

Jarring, jangly guitars and the pained shouts of vocalist/guitarist Alicia Bognanno are the centerpiece of the song, which comes with a music video that fully captures the frantic, emotional overload of the song’s lyrics:

I live for you to tear me apart
Relics of a dream survived by you
I was mad for it right from the start
Suffer in desire when I see you
Turn me back into a child

Everything about the song screams early ’90s, doesn’t it? It’s no surprise that Bully calls Sub Pop its label home, and will release a new album, Superegg, on the label on August 21.

Bognanno told Rolling Stone the song was — believe it or not — inspired by Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping,” and that 1997 classic helped her shape the thoughts and themes of “Where to Start” into its final form:

“I was listening to ‘Tubthumping’ by Chumbawamba and picking apart the melodic structure and sort of trying to mimic that,” Bognanno tells Rolling Stone. “I’m not even joking; it still makes me laugh to think about. But let’s be real, that is undeniably a solid song. ‘Where to Start’ addresses the frustration that comes along with love having the ability to fully control your mood and mental state for better or worse. It was therapeutic to funnel some lightheartedness into what can be an otherwise draining state of mind.”

Bully was formed in 2013 and to date has released two full-length albums, the most recent being 2017’s Losing.

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Wow wow wow SUGAREGG is finally available for preorder today and officially out August 21st. I spent the past 3 years working on this record and am so very excited, proud and terrified haha. Sometimes ya just gotta take a big leap, do all you can and hope for the best ya know what I mean? Anywho the most greatest thanks to everyone involved: Wes Mitchell, John Congleton, Zach Dawes, Graham Walsh, Heba Kadry, Ryan Matteson, Madelyn Anderson, Tony Kiewel and everyone else whomst I absolutely adore at Sub Pop. More soon! ——————————————————————- Head to the link in bio to pick your vinyl color and pre-order your signed copy.

A post shared by Bully (@bullythemusic) on Jun 11, 2020 at 1:54pm PDT

The track listing for Superegg:

1. Add It On
2. Every Tradition
3. Where to Start
4. Prism
5. You
6. Let You
7. Like Fire
8. Stuck in Your Head
9. Come Down
10. Not Ashamed
11. Hours and Hours
12. What I Wanted

Over the past few weeks, Bully has remained active on social media, even premiering a solid cover of Nirvana‘s “About a Girl,” which was released on May 13 and amplifies the band’s most grunge-y qualities: