Baby Combat and the ethereal melancholia & outstretched hands of "Deeper We Fall"

 

"So we go, they won't follow / No embrace for the lost / All alone with the anger / Disbelieving what went wrong / Farther we go..."

Like a persistent memory in your head, the ringing cylindrical guitar notes rolling like a constant engine, an artful meditation, a protection chant of sorts that feels like hands holding your shoulders keeping you from leaping. This is the sense of the ghostly "Deeper We Fall" by Portland based Baby Combat, the musical project of Noel Yeo (Supersloth, Shelves) who I have covered at least half a dozen times since 2019. There is something about this track in particular that sticks in my head, cemented by the circular rhythms, the machine beats (and the starting and stopping of them), the vast vocal melodies as artfully rendered in layers of sound by Yeo and, too, the amazing collaboration / vocals by Rachel Tan (Telekura, Lost Weekend) that add a formidable emotional weight to it all.

The overall vastness has a beautiful ring, an acoustic rebound like a band playing in the back of a cathedral. The guitars interplay like interconnecting puzzle pieces is a big part of the architecture that works and feels so magnetic, big droning shifts of sonic fog offer post punk moodiness against, the poetry falling from Yeo's and Tan's lips have something to say.

Farther we go

Deeper we fall
Broken hearts are no harder
Wounded hopes are not strong
Waking, or am I waiting

For the curtain call

And finally, the bent guitar lead distortions, fuzzed and tubular just sound unbelievably pained and cool. 

"Deeper We Fall" is from Baby Combat's latest EP "A is for Average"  

-Robb Donker Curtius     

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0gtkGD5EAl3bRjhQJ83bsT

https://soundcloud.com/babycombat

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4UYeGtY6MhzHRVtn-vORwQ/featured

https://soundcloud.com/babycombat

https://www.instagram.com/baby_combat/

https://www.facebook.com/babycombatband/

https://twitter.com/babycombat_


Since 2018, Noel Yeo (Supersloth, Shelves) has been releasing music as Portland based Baby Combat. Rachel Tan (telekura, Lost Weekend) provides lead vocals on Edna's Got a Pistol and Ten Times Fold. Debut album '12' collects all singles from Baby Combat's first year.

Baby Combat, indie rock, post punk, melancholy pop, alt pop, collaborations, Noel Yeo, Rachel Tan, "Deeper We Fall", new EP "A is for Average",