Bookie Baker and the heavy weight, the widespread manipulation and caveats of "Content"

 

"Brown eyed baby what do you need?
 / You’ve got your mother’s deep pockets and a mouth to feed / You got a lifetime of rage but you aint there yet / 
I’ll be back to check your progress watch your very first step..."


The heavy weight, the widespread manipulation and victims of "Content" by artful alt folk provocateurs Bookie Baker, the duo of Irishman Caolan O’Neill-Forde and Canadian Alex Montyro will undoubtedly move you, draw you in by the barbed lyrics, full of corrosive pain, grifter's cajole, melancholia and angst about what our modern world has become. Now, don't get me wrong "Content" is not sonically all doom and gloom, it's metaphors play playfully, the song is full of acerbic wit, caveats as a piano throttled Southern ballad in an old church that is no longer about religion but about algorithms. The sweep, scope and breathe here feels cinematic, the vocal aesthetic is pitch perfect and emotionally deep, full of tears and gut punches with a wry grin too and the lyrics, the lyrics are brilliant. Read them and you feel like you are reading a novel for our down times.

LINER NOTES (bracketed):

["Content" is a critique on rage bait and disinformation. Through the lens of a personified algorithm, it highlights how digital forces cater to various demographics—teenagers, young adults, and middle-aged workers—promising comfort while also exploiting their frustrations and insecurities. By portraying itself as both a confidant and a catalyst for discontent, the song delivers a commentary on how disinformation and sensationalism can distort our perceptions and fuel societal division, all while masquerading as connection and support.]

As I listened to the dark wisdom of "Content" with the bold warnings and cold consequences, I thought of artists like Sun Kil Moon and Father John Misty who take Americana folk and try to say something beyond themselves and I see the wide black pen letters on Woody Guthrie's famous acoustic busker punk guitar "this machine kills fascists". 

"Hardworking middle-aged Michigan man

You’ve Worked for 33 years till the company ran
Now the government’s got you paying tax on your knees
And your countries been invaded by those refugees

I’m a content creator, chaos lighting up your screen
Misdirected aggression, I’m your rage machine
No affiliation to the poison prescribed
Collecting mass traffic is where my loyalty lies

It’s all okay now that I’m here to stay
So throw all your cares away
You won’t miss what you gave away..."

LINER NOTES (bracketed)

[Bookie Baker’s creative and musical journey, punctuated by an arrest and interrogation in China, is just part of the alt-folk duo’s story. Consisting of Irishman, Caolan O’Neill-Forde and Canadian, Alex Montyro, their journey from the beginning has been fuelled by a sense of adventure, entrepreneurial spirit and wanderlust.

The collaboration began after Montyro opened a music venue in the Liaoning province of China and O’Neill-Forde wandered in looking for musical compatriots in a faraway land. Soon packing in large crowds to the ire of local communist party officials, the duo found themselves enduring multiple interrogations by local police after an arrest during a live performance. Released after being warned to never play music in the country again, they opened a map and considered options across the globe. One city became a clear standout due to its thriving renaissance of creativity, culture and commerce: Prague]

-Robb Donker Curtius

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/09qaoSV8ipcBdvsnEptWFE

https://www.instagram.com/bookiebakermusic/

https://www.facebook.com/BookieBakerMusic/


Bookie Baker’s creative and musical journey, punctuated by an arrest and interrogation in China, is just part of the alt-folk duo’s story. Consisting of Irishman, Caolan O’Neill-Forde and Canadian, Alex Montyro, their journey from the beginning has been fuelled by a sense of adventure, entrepreneurial spirit and wanderlust.

The collaboration began after Montyro opened a music venue in the Liaoning province of China and O’Neill-Forde wandered in looking for musical compatriots in a faraway land. Soon packing in large crowds to the ire of local communist party officials, the duo found themselves enduring multiple interrogations by local police after an arrest during a live performance. Released after being warned to never play music in the country again, they opened a map and considered options across the globe. One city became a clear standout due to its thriving renaissance of creativity, culture and commerce: Prague.


Several musical experiments later, they decided to go it alone and quickly gained notice in the local scene. Combining video production talents with a knack for storytelling, the pair enlisted the help of several local actors and crew to direct the video for Autumn Wind, the lead track on their newly released EP “The 1st”.


Bookie Baker will be touring Europe this summer and opening in Prague for pioneering Alt-folk troubadour, Amigo the Devil. Bookie Baker has been described as "A winning combination of deft yet beautifully-understated musicianship & wry turn of phrase & expressive vocals" reminiscent of Father John Misty meets Simon & Garfunkel.

Bookie Baker, alt folk duo Irishman Caolan O’Neill-Forde / Canadian Alex Montyro, social commentary, dark folk, Americana, based in Prague, singer songwriters, ballad, heartland rock,