John Bueno
Photo: Kristie Krause

John Bueno is a singer-songwriter based in Ithaca, New York. His musical style is a merging of guitar-centric indie rock in the spirit of bands like Pavement, Sonic Youth, and Silver Jews with a more synth-focused new wave sound a la Tears For Fears, Echo and The Bunnymen, Joy Division, and New Order. After moving to Philadelphia in 2008, he co-founded the garage rock band Organ Blues, which later became Bueno And The Goods. During this time, he met and began collaborating with his wife and songwriting partner, Kristin Bigness. Together they formed The Bigness which was the main focus until 2023 when he released his first original new music since 2014. The new single "Barrel" showcases his trademark big guitar sounds, layered synth textures, and piano melodies sitting on a solid rhythm foundation of sharp drums and warmly driven bass all tied together in an immersive ambiance.

Contributors

Barrel Press Release

2014 was the last time I put out original new music. As much as I loved writing and performing, I had fallen into the trap of doing it more for self-affirmation than anything else. When my need for validation couldn't be satisfied, my confidence was severely shaken. While I didn't completely hang it up by any means, I found that I had "lost my voice" so to speak.

A few months into the isolation and uncertainty of the early pandemic, I began thinking more about music as an art form and what that meant to me. I remember trying to record a demo of this song and struggling to shake the feeling that I was, for lack of a better term, doing it wrong. I have to imagine that something about the fatalism we were all feeling in early 2020 snapped me into realizing that if you are doing it for the right reason, there is no "wrong" way to do it. As I continued through the demoing process, I tried to focus more on creating something I loved rather than anyone else.

I have tried to keep this notion in mind through all aspects of the release, including creating the video you see here. As Kristin and I packed up our beloved apartment of over ten years, we decided to capture some footage of the neighborhood at that moment in time. Cities, after all, are constantly changing. While Fishtown would always be there, I wanted a way to transport myself back to the version of it that I remember, surrounded by the city and the people we love. Something that I could watch anytime I was feeling nostalgic and immerse myself in fond memories of the life we made there. From countless nights out with friends at our favorite spots to asking Kristin to marry me at the stoop of our apartment above Primos and daily "sanity walks" around the cemetery or to Penn Treaty Park during the early pandemic. I hope you enjoy it and share it, but if not... that's fine too ;).