Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free is the third studio album by folk supergroup Bonny Light Horseman, released on June 7, 2024, through Jagjaguwar. It received positive reviews from critics.
Writing and recording The album was written over the span of five months. Most of the album was recorded at the Levis Corner House pub in Ballydehob, Ireland, with additional recording taking place in New York.
Critical reception
Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Mark Deming called it "state-of-the-art contemporary pop-folk", and felt that "with each LP Bonny Light Horseman deliver stronger work; deciding to put their songwriting chops to work may be the smartest thing they've done to date." Mojo commented that "Bonny Light Horseman probably could've said just as much over half the tracks, but the fact they had the courage to keep digging ever deeper into their emotional turbulence has bourne spectacular results", while Uncut felt that "only a couple of tracks into Bonny Light Horseman's third album, it's clear this is something special. Beauty erupts from the vocal harmonies of Eric Johnson and Anais Mitchell, who lift the Technicolor folk-rock of 'Lover Take It Easy' into something close to heaven. And then it keeps getting better".
Eric R. Danton of Paste wrote that there is "scarcely a dud among the 18 songs", and that, "though the album feels long at 63 minutes, Johnson, Kaufman and Mitchell fill that time with reflections on longing, growing older and a pastoral kind of life—all rendered in the soft light and lengthening shadows of a late summer afternoon fading toward evening". Reviewing the album for Exclaim!, Anthony Boire concluded that "the few moments of experimentation are outweighed by an assured grasp of traditional instrumentation, and it works out for the better. This is a well-travelled band firing on all cylinders."
Year-end lists + Select year-end rankings for Keep Me On Your Mind/See You Free Publication/critic Accolade RankBBC Radio 6 Music 26 Albums of the Year 2024-Rough Trade UK Albums of the Year 202474Uncut 80 Best Albums of 202453
Track listing
Personnel Bonny Light Horseman Eric D. Johnson – vocals (tracks 1–3, 5–14, 16–20), guitars (2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 16, 18), synthesizer (3, 7, 11), Wurlitzer (5, 17), piano (5, 20), banjo (8, 9) Anaïs Mitchell – vocals (tracks 1–3, 5–14, 16–20), guitars (2, 3, 5, 8–11, 16, 18, 19) Josh Kaufman – guitars (tracks 1–3, 5–13, 16–18, 20), piano (2, 6, 7, 14, 17–19), Wurlitzer (3, 7, 9, 10, 13), mandolin (3, 8, 18), vocals (5, 8–10, 12, 14, 16, 18), synthesizer (5, 17, 20), harmonica (5, 17), harmonium (7, 12), organ (10, 11, 17, 18, 20), bass (10, 17, 20); keyboards, loops (10); tambourine (12), Hammond organ (16), vibraphone (19)
Additional musicians JT Bates – drums (tracks 1–3, 5–14, 16–20), percussion (2, 3, 5, 7–11, 13, 14, 16, 18–20), congas (3, 7), vocals (5, 14) Mike Lewis – bass (tracks 1, 3, 12, 13, 16–18), saxophone (2, 10, 14, 19), vocals (14) Annie Nero – bass (tracks 2, 19), vocals (2) Nathan Vanderpool – vocals (tracks 2, 5, 14), guitar (18) Cameron Ralston – bass (tracks 5–9, 11, 14), vocals (5, 14), guitar (19) Levis Town Chorus – vocals (tracks 5, 6, 8, 9, 14) Gillian Pelkonen – vocals (track 5) Molly O'Mahony – tambourine (track 5)
Technical Josh Kaufman – production Bella Blasko – engineering Gillian Pelkonen – engineering Nathan Vanderpool – engineering D. James Goodwin – mixing, mastering
Charts + Chart performance for Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free Chart (2024) Peakposition Swedish Physical Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 14
References