"how vacant the spaces that graces the strangers while we were still young..."
Sometimes you hear something so sweetly whimsical and endearing that you see in your mind's eye Kermit the frog playing a banjo. I swear to god, no to God itself, that this happened 2 and a half times while listening to "Vacant Spaces" by the very special and amazing Joe Baughman + The Righteous Few from their latest album "Antichrist Complex". This is not to say that this song is all butterflies and roses, it most certainly is not. The overall sound, a sonic vision of distant trains, of wanderlust, of battles won and lost told in a sort of bluegrass alt folk country garden rock thing that feels kind of revivalist, kind of old wooden church folk / gospel and traveling show too. That might not tell you a lot, or it might tell you everything you need to know.
To help complete the description or attempt to I can tell you that I did think of Modest Mouse and of Man Man, of Jackson Browne and Fleetwood Mac and the Band all in one long breath. I thought of 1976, of beach fire pits and playing guitar around such funeral pyres. The Official Video for "Vacant Spaces" is a fucking trip and this is the time to tell you that Baughman has another successful life as a video director and stop motion animator and has created imaginary landscapes for many well know musical artists from Wilco, to Julien Baker and The Roots to name just a few. "Antichrist Complex" marks Baughman’s 'first serious go at releasing and promoting his own recorded work after being a part of that process for many other artists'.
I hope to delve into the album soon enough because I am intrigued (a total understatement).
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://twitter.com/jbaughmanmusic
https://www.instagram.com/jbaughmanmusic/
While Baughman’s music may be new to the masses, his work as a video director and stop-motion animator is certainly not. Over the years, Baughman has created music videos for well known artists including Wilco, Julien Baker, and The Roots among many others. All the while, continuing to work on his personal sonic creations as well. Antichrist Complex marks Baughman’s first serious go at releasing and promoting his own recorded work after being a part of that process for many other artists.
Across 13-tracks, Antichrist Complex features an eclectic and introspective mix of sometimes funky ("Blasphemy"), sometimes manic ("Stay Awake"), and sometimes uplifting ("Matted Grass") songs. A sound cultivated and inspired by what Baughman describes as “color from daily Middle American existence, personal sadsackery, religious imagery and deconstructionism.”
The new LP follows Joe Baughman’s 2021 Acoustic Complex: A Solo Piano Experience and 2019’s Vacant Spaces, which provided the musical foundation, and launchpad for newfound exploration and takes on previously recorded tracks.
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