The Bony King Of Nowhere – Everybody Knows (2024)

I tried to run, I tried to hide,
but every mirror showed the same inside.

Some albums slowly work their way under your skin. Everybody Knows by The Bony King of Nowhere is one of them. On first listen, it was the melancholy that stood out—a kind of resignation that drapes gently over the entire album. But the more I returned to it, the more I began to hear: nuance, stillness, and even hope.

Bram Vanparys, the man behind The Bony King of Nowhere, has created something disarmingly honest with this record. The production is sparse, almost minimal, and precisely because of that, every note, every word, carries more weight. The songs feel like letters to himself: candid, searching, sometimes hesitant. Especially in tracks like “Are You Still Alive” and “Almost Invisible,” he strikes an existential chord without ever becoming heavy-handed.

What makes Everybody Knows so special is its trust in the power of silence. Nothing is overstated. There’s space, there’s listening—and as a listener, you feel that. No grand gestures, no overproduced layers—just a man, his voice, and a handful of instruments that know exactly when to speak and when to stay quiet.

I was lucky enough to see Bram perform solo at Kunstencentrum 404 during Record Store Day 2024. Just him and his guitar, offering stripped-down versions of songs from this album. It was stunning. Intimate. As if he was playing the silence itself. That performance only deepened my appreciation for him as a songwriter.

Tracklist

A1 Are You Still Alive
A2 Get One Free
A3 Everybody Knows
A4 Falling Into Place
A5 Almost Invisible
A6 Rubber Faces
B1 Erase
B2 Working Harder
B3 All It Takes
B4 Slow Down
B5 Perfect Sense

Vinyl Specs

Streaming

Links

https://www.discogs.com/release/30113972-The-Bony-King-Of-Nowhere-Everybody-Knows

https://www.waxlog.com/collection/cave/artist-b/release/1921346505/the-bony-king-of-nowhere-everybody-knows