Album of the week
Hak Baker – Worlds End FM
East London songwriter, Hak Baker, has used the term g-folk to describe his musical stylings, a blend of grime and folk. But that feels restrictive. On the evidence here, his style is really whatever he wants it to be at any given moment. The album ranges from gentle acoustic strums to drum ‘n’ bass inspired skits, taking in elements of punk, funk, R&B, and more along the way. It’s genre-hopping, but Baker is never a tourist; it all feels natural. Whichever stylistic direction the album takes, Baker is there to anchor things with a laid-back storyteller’s charm.
The album’s theme also works in this regard; Baker as a radio host playing on as the world ends around him. There’s a series of skits scattered throughout the album and, unusually, they actually work. They help to hold the album together and provide cameo appearances which bring to life Baker’s supporting cast of family and friends. While the album is ostensibly about the end of the world, it’s really about the importance of these relationships; having good times and supporting loved ones in spite of, or rather because of, the world falling apart around you.
While Baker might literally talk of the world ending during the skits, the tales throughout the album reveal this to be metaphoric for the struggles of those around him as their worlds fall apart personally. It could be taken as a political album but Baker never really gets political. He certainly hints at political or wider societal issues; families torn apart following the ‘Windrush crisis’, gentrification, the pressures of intense social media scrutiny (complete with Britney Spears reference), but these feel like a distant backdrop. Instead, Baker focuses in on the human impacts, revealing how these issues are intertwined in our lives whether we realise it or not.
Baker excels when he really hones in on a subject, like Brotherhood where he describes feeling like a helpless bystander witnessing a friend struggling with their mental health. He also has a knack for really capturing a mood in certain songs. On DOOLALLY that’s the relentless, blurry pace of a good night out. And at the other of the spectrum, I Don’t Know is so laid-back it feels like you’re in a daydream.
The strongest tracks here have quite overt messaging or themes. So those tracks with slightly vaguer lyrics suffer in comparison. There’s a few tunes, like the Jamie T-esque Collateral Cause and Bricks in the Wall, which are perfectly well crafted songs, but don’t have the impact of those around them. Later on, Dying to Live and Almost Lost London are a bit too close tonally, which causes them to run together slightly. The album’s pacing would have benefited from losing a couple of tracks off the length.
Those are nitpicks though in what is a fine effort for the most part, with multiple stand out moments. In particular, closing track, The End of the World, really does feel like the culmination of everything that comes before it, driving home the album’s message as it tackles some of its heaviest subject matter in suicide, grief, and mental health. The song brings together one of the aforementioned cameos with a lullaby-like ode to looking after one another. It’s the kind of thing that could come off cheesy out of context, but it feels completely sincere and the moment is earned by what precedes it. And it really solidifies Baker’s role here, he isn’t just a storyteller, he’s the curator for the stories of those around them. And this feels like his gift to them for letting him be a part of those stories.
Best tunes: DOOLALLY, Windrush Baby, I Don’t Know, The End of the World
Tunes of the Week
BIG SPECIAL – THIS HERE AIN’T WATER
BIG SPECIAL is Birmingham duo Joe Hicklin (singer) and Callum Moloney (drummer). I could throw two disparate genres together to try to come up with a snappy description for their sound, but it wouldn’t really do them justice. There’s hints of all sorts in there; punk, electro, spoken-word poetry, hip-hop, soul, etc. But they don’t lend themselves to easy comparison, the music takes inspiration from the past, without feeling like an obvious retread of anything that’s came before.
They’ve been quoted as saying that this song is about “media and politics… self-medication…a lack of options…the thinning of the common understanding between the social classes of England…” but, to be honest, I’d be surprised if you pick up any of that yourself. And, I think that’s kind of the point; Hicklin’s lyrics deal in more of a metaphoric poetic style, which provide the canvas for the listener to attach their own meanings.
Similar to previous single, SHITHOUSE, this both feels immediate while actually being a bit of a slow-burn grower, it’s in-your-face while also feeling quite minimalistic. Neither song completely won me over immediately, but both have something that hooks you back in for more. A big part of that is Hicklin’s vocals. His delivery on the verses is spoken-word with a punky aggression, not too dissimilar to the original punk poet, John Cooper Clarke. But come the chorus he switches into an almost soulful powerhouse. While he mightn’t be spelling anything out too obviously lyrically, his voice will certainly tell you that this shit important.
Celestial North – Otherworld
Celestial North is a Scottish artist, based in the Lake District. This is the title track from her upcoming debut album, which has been produced by Woody (formerly of British Sea Power/Sea Power). I have to admit that my instincts for bullshit aversion kicked in when reading up on her bio as it’s full of bohemian talk of pagan euphoria, stone circles, and cosmic detours into other lands. But listening to Otherworld, that all kind of makes sense.
It’s a song which feels completely at one with nature, while also having a magical quality to it. With ethereal vocals, twinkling strings, and airy backing harmonies, it’s full of dream pop staples. But it’s offset with tribal drum rhythms which propel things forward and provide a sense of urgency amongst the fragile beauty. With the re-assuringly uplifting refrain of “don’t look back and you’ll never feel broken” adding an anthemic flair into the mix. And not to do it a disservice, because this is really good in its own right, but it’s one of those tunes that feels ripe for a banger of a remix (if someone could get to work on that please).
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