Bronson (album)

The album follows Golden Features' 2019 collaborative EP Raka with The Presets and Odesza's Grammy nominated 2017 album A Moment Apart.[10] Golden Features previously remixed Odesza's song "Falls" in October 2018.[11]

Odesza members Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight bonded with Thomas Stell over a mutual admiration of each other's music, sending demos to one another over Dropbox.[3] After multiple studio sessions over FaceTime,[12] they eventually met up in order to record together, which led to the creation of the album.[3]

The album was announced on 27 April via Twitter,[12] with Odesza posting on their account:

"Just finished an entire album with Golden Features."[13]

Thomas Stell additionally posted:

"Let me introduce you to BRONSON. A full album from myself and my brothers ODESZA coming soon."[12]

The album was originally scheduled to release on 17 July 2020,[10] but was delayed to 7 August.[2]

Bronson was produced by Harrison Mills, Clayton Knight, and Thomas Stell.[14]

Recording on the album began in 2018, in Berry, New South Wales,[3] and was finalised in 2020.[12]

Bronson is primarily a house,[15] electro,[16] and EDM album.[17]

The cover artwork depicts a man holding his head in his hands, with the letters "Bro" and "Nson" written in capital letters on his left and right hands, respectively.[13] The album title is displayed in white text at the bottom of the image.[6]

Ross Goldenberg of Dancing Astronaut stated: "With all tracks seamlessly transitioning into one another, Bronson maintains a balanced pool of lighter additions."[19] He additionally described the album as "a promising first chapter".[19]

Sophie Bress, also of Dancing Astronaut, called the album "a maze of sound, brimming with contradictions. It is expected but not predictable, surprising but not shocking, sonically diverse but not disjointed."[20] Bress also noted the album "brings together their distinct styles", describing the result as a "multitudinous and emotive musical collection that defies classification".[20]

Allie Gregory of Exclaim! praised the album as "a wholesome, heartfelt approach to electronic dance music that appeals to emotion before aesthetics."[17] Gregory also stated she "hope[s] to hear from [them] again in the future."[17]

Ryan Middleton of Magnetic Magazine described the album as "tough and gritty" and praised its "intricate melodies".[16] Middleton also favourably compared the track "Tense" to Gesaffelstein's production work.[16]

In Australia, Bronson debuted and peaked at number 22 on the ARIA Albums Chart for the chart dated 17 August 2020,[8] before falling into the lower fifty the following week.[21]

In the United States, the album debuted and peaked at number 5 on Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart,[9] before exiting the chart a week later.[22]

All tracks were written by all members of Bronson, with the exception of featured artists. All tracks produced by Bronson.

Notes

• All track titles are stylised in all caps.[6]
• The album tracklist initially contained a song titled "Blackout",[18] but this song was removed from the final tracklist in favour of "Keep Moving".[24]

Adapted from the album's liner notes.[25]

Bronson

• Harrison Mills – producer (1–12)
• Clayton Knight – producer (1–12)
• Thomas Stell – producer (1–12)

Other musicians

• Laura Bettinson – vocals (2)
• Christopher Joseph Gallant III – vocals (4)
• Orlando Tobias Edward Higginbottom – vocals (10)