Baio: The Names (Glass Note)

 |   |  <1 min read

Baio: Needs
Baio: The Names (Glass Note)

Not to be confused with small-screen star Scott, Chris Baio -- bassist with Vampire Weekend -- here gets playful and poppy (the bright Sister of Pearl) with this debut solo album.

It mines a small but rewarding vein of electro-pop in the manner of Hot Chip, but he comes off his own man with deft funk flourishes, subtle allusions to world music-cum-disco (the lengthy opening overs of I Was Born in a Marathon), and a warmly expressive voice which suits these polished songs.

Like a New Romantic with a better record collection, Baio throws in glistening ripples of keyboards across chugging synths, and sometimes comes off like New Order if they'd been born nearer the equator.

He adds just enough of the wonk factor (the woozy effects on Matter, the abrasive crosscut slash on Scarlett) to keep these songs from sliding into mainstream blandness, and every so often the ghost of quivering Bowie of the mid Seventies or Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark a decade later come to mind.

So smart and referential stuff, not anything to hold the front page for but a highly enjoyable outing which at just 40 minutes invites warm weather repeat play.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Music at Elsewhere articles index

Hedvig Mollestad Trio: Smells Funny (Rune Grammofon/Southbound)

Hedvig Mollestad Trio: Smells Funny (Rune Grammofon/Southbound)

But first we draw your attention to previous releases on Rune Grammofon, an interesting label out of Norway which ran from mainstream but innovative jazz to odd and interesting electronic sounds.... > Read more

Willis Earl Beal: Acousmatic Sorcery (XL)

Willis Earl Beal: Acousmatic Sorcery (XL)

Beal's story is as interesting as this often engrossing debut album. In 2007 at age 23 after being discharged from the US army, he went and lived in the New Mexico desert while suffering from... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

THE BARGAIN BUY: The Goonies (DVD)

THE BARGAIN BUY: The Goonies (DVD)

While it is neither Elswehere's interest nor place to advice anyone on how best to bring up children, we would be remiss if we didn't point out you might just be some kind of lesser parent or... > Read more

GUEST SONGWRITER DAVID MORRIS OF BRITAIN'S RED RIVER DIALECT shares the background to the band's new album Broken Stay Open Sky

GUEST SONGWRITER DAVID MORRIS OF BRITAIN'S RED RIVER DIALECT shares the background to the band's new album Broken Stay Open Sky

When writing the last Red River Dialect album, which was called Tender Gold and Gentle Blue (2015, Paradise of Bachelors, through Southbound in New Zealand), my everyday was... > Read more