Bayonne – Filters
Bayonne has been at it for ten-ish years, crafting unique and textured alt-pop that feels like an experience to listen to. His latest offering is Filters, a 10-song album full of vibrant colors and shapes that just happen to be in the form of sound. Toeing the line of experimental, Filters stays rooted in pop songwriting, although its highly patterned output runs the spectrum between smooth, squelchy, pleasing, and moody. It’s certainly a one-of-a-kind experience – one we’re delighted to detail below.
Album opener “Unexpected” is an acoustic guitar song at heart, but Bayonne layers it thick with insane atmospherics. Marimbas; arpeggiated synths; organic percussion; and beautifully ethereal vocals. This is music that just begs for a night spent with a THC gummy – when we say this is textured, it truly tickles your ears with it’s multi-faceted and layered approach.
Elsewhere, Bayonne continue to delight with different approaches that serve the album’s mind-opening modality. “Gamut” trades acoustic guitar for piano and cavernous drums – a sunshine-y tune that feels like a blurry waltz through a swampy meadow. Bayonne has an interesting way of combining organic indie rock with a splorch-ing bass tone. Fans of Local Natives and/or Coldplay will love how easy this goes down, whereas fans of Enya or Air (two of the album’s main influences) will find lots to dig into. This same organic/synthetic vibe can be found on the stuttering “Oxygen” – clattering percussion pairs up perfectly with jittery bursts of synth, juxtaposing in-the-room musicianship with otherworldly sounds.
There’s a little something for everyone here on Filters, so here’s a few more rapid-fire suggestions. The piano led “Remedies” is stunningly beautiful – you’ll find yourself nodding your head in the count of six while you dig into the Latin-inspired percussion tucked deep in the mix. “Multiphase” has some of the most beautiful synth tones on the album, and rivals the video game soundtrack work of composer David Wise (see “Aquatic Ambience”). Lastly, If you’re a real alt-pop head, start with “Good Enough,” which could easily slot into rotation on adult contemporary radio.
Filters is out September 4th, 2026. Check out the visualizer for “Gamut” embedded below.
Categorised in: Album Reviews
This post was written by Nick Sessanna