There must be a complex Venn diagram that has Good Habits at its centre in the midst of folk, jazz and indie. They began life as duo – Bonnie Schwarz and Pete Shaw – trapped by the pandemic in New Zealand and I’m sure that there are many worse fates. Last year they expanded to become a trio with the addition of drummer Jen Walinetski who makes her first appearance on Better For Now which, as far as I can tell, is their fourth album. Sadly, the packaging is completely uninformative and if I had not had a PR sheet and access to the internet, I would know nothing. If you already have Good Habits that won’t matter.
Bonnie is the lead vocalist and also plays cello with Pete playing accordion and synths and Jen’s drums adding a further dimension. The album is tight and Pete proves himself an inventive player, particularly on synths with the accordion providing the background. They can be very restrained but, that said, they can get pretty full-on when they want to. The opener, ‘Different Eyes’, begins almost imperceptibly with a quiet drone and Bonnie’s sweet voice. After one pass Jen’s percussion joins in and the song rapidly builds up magnificently. It would seem to be about the different ways people see the world – but I could be wrong.
‘What Will Become Of Me’ follows a similar blueprint but the synth drone is replaced by Pete’s accordion and I may detect a little electronic treatment here. ‘Reading Song’ is a jolly song about the joys of books (and why not?) with Bonnie lamenting that she buys classics in a vain attempt to improve herself. I sympathise. ‘Ideas’ and ‘Keeping An Eye’ bring the accordion to the fore with simple but solid drums holding the beat. The latter boasts a cello break. ‘Body Of Mine’ is another song with a hint of humour. It presents so many ideas including that of body positivity.
Pete’s accordion turns into a jazz instrument on ‘The Point Of No Return’ and the single, ‘Uetze’, employs all of Good Habits’ repertoire which is one reason that I chose it for the video slot. I won’t describe it – you can listen for yourselves – and ‘So Easy’ closes the set.
It only took a couple of plays to get into Better For Now – the hypnotic quality of the arrangements probably helped the process along. There are lots of videos available on the interweb including an imaginative choice of covers. Worth checking out.
Dai Jeffries
Artists’ website: www.goodhabitsband,com
‘Uetze’ – live:
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