Cerulean

Album review

It’s fitting that Baths’ debut album Cerulean is on Anticon, as Will Wiesenfeld’s music blends glitchy, hip-hop-tinged beats with delicate atmospheres. Cerulean sounds like the missing link between Bibio, Flying Lotus, Toro y Moi, and Dilla, to name a few, but Wiesenfeld has his own sound within that realm. He keeps his intricate rhythms at the forefront for most of the album, giving even some of the more reflective songs an undeniable energy, and many of his songs are dazzlingly busy. The aptly named “Maximalist” rides an ever-changing beat FlyLo would be happy to call his own as woozy samples float underneath; “Indoorsy” is another fitting statement of purpose, a cheery piece of dream pop that sounds like an album’s worth of ideas packed into a bedroom studio. Yet no matter how dense or complicated Wiesenfeld’s tracks get, there is still a handmade, organic feel to them that balances child-like playfulness with sophistication, especially on “Aminals,” where kids growl and roar. While the Cerulean tracks where Wiesenfeld sings are just as well-crafted as his instrumentals, his indie boy croon makes them more similar to the likes of Grizzly Bear and other indie rock bands du jour -- however, there’s no denying that tracks such as “Lovely Bloodflow” and “Hall” show that his songwriting skills are just as sharp as his abilities as a producer. Sometimes his approach is so distinctive and intense that it borders on overwhelming, but the album has a few tracks where Baths pulls back on the fast and furious beats. “Rafting Starlit Everglades” is an impressionistic blur; “Rain Smell” revolves around soothing rain and bird samples; and the gentle “Departure” brings Cerulean to a gliding close. Wiesenfeld was still in his early twenties when he recorded this impressive debut, suggesting that Baths would only grow with time.
© Heather Phares /TiVo