Boy and Bucket have re-released In High Places, dedicated to Yasmin, a close friend and partner they lost in 2019.
The loss of a beloved friend and partner sparked the birth of Boy and Bucket. The pain, energy and rawness they oozed and expressed was cathartic in processing the unbelievable feeling of losing someone so close. Through this connection and synergy of pain, In High Places came to be.
Boy and Bucket are a loud and proud all-trans indie folk band. They’ve cultivated a space for reveling in the complexities of life and the excitement that comes with friendship. The trio are best friends and express fundamental queer truths together in a universally accessible and relatable way, through love and connection. The band features “Boy” (Malaika Mfalme) on vocals and guitar, “and” (Billie Vanson) on drums, and “Bucket” (Bubblegum Bucket) on vocals and trumpet.
For the members of Boy and Bucket, writing In High Places while crawling from the gutters of grief is a raw and real opening into processing the heartache of losing someone you love. Crafted with a raw and emotional yet gentle finger-bleeding acoustic guitar, the song introduces a snapshot of grief.
Churning in grief, their contrasting high mountain and low valley vocal tones twist and twirl within each other, bending through the cruelness of grief in a primal gloom. Hanging in the air like gunsmoke, Bucket’s southern-swap-like vocals are sharp and half-drowning in dissipation, leaking out chunks of sadness. Boy’s raspy vocals sting with a knife-like accent and heart-rendering timing, the whisper-like tone opens up the spaces between the sound, letting them exude the sounds of grief.
Imprisoned within their suffering, they cram these feelings within the chorus, with shuttering vocals and air-quivering lyrics. Boy lets go of all restraints and strikes within their inner emotional core, lucidly crying the lyrics “hold us to no lords” and brings a shade of pale to the atmosphere. Following this seldom breakdown, an avalanche of harmonizing vocals, wedge within the lyrics “gather,” and “heal the pain.” Like the battles of grief, dynamics of tension and release are potent in this track. The bridge possesses this experience as its soaked in a palette of blistered raw emotional cries, that wash up on the shore and collapse in utter despair. It ends in a whispered weep, howling for connection and community healing.
Boy and Bucket are all over the concept of making music that combusts into rawness. There is an intricate and elegant relationship between the harmonies of their vocals and the gentle plucking guitar, reminiscent of Angus and Julia Stone’s silky sounds. Their commitment to abandoning any restraints holding them back from unveiling their emotions can be an association to The Mountain Goats.
Since the arrival of drummer Billie, Boy and Bucket have gained some devoted fans, featured on FBi Radio, and perform regularly at venues including Darlinghurst Theatre Company, the Red Rattler, and the lovable cozy queer bookshop and bar, Sapphos Bar. Be sure to keep an eye out for their shows.
In High Places is an emotional journey that anyone with openness in their heart will enjoy and appreciate. For those who are navigating through grief, the track will crawl under your skin and touch your soul in a beautiful and heartbreaking way. Have a listen to it below and just get ready to be in awe.
