Baxter was positioned for crossover success. At the end of the 90s, conventional wisdom was that the future of music was "electronica", a catch-all genre that generally translated to drum-and-bass/jungle/techno/trip-hop with more conventional song structures and vocals. And that's pretty much exactly what Baxter was, minus the techno part. Plus, they had major label backing. But their name was nondescript, their vocalist didn't present herself the way that female musicians were/are expected to, and they didn't really write hooks, so no dice. I ended up finding Baxter/this CD via an add-on deal with the first purchase I ever made from our overlords at Amazon -- another debut album from an also-ran trip-hop artist -- so someone was obviously having trouble unloading copies.
Track listing:
1. Television
2. Fading
3. Love Again
4. I Can't See Why
5. Ballad of Behaviour
6. Political
7. Possible
8. All of My Pride
9. So Much I've Heard
10. Oh My Love
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I can honestly say I've never heard of this band. Downloading right now.....
ReplyDeleteNot bad. The lyrics don't make a lick of sense. The vocalist has a pleasant singling voice I will say.
DeleteThis is a good one. A lot of people seem to have trouble with music you can assign to a certain decade easily soundwise. To me, this is more often a sign of quality. What does it mean to them if music sounds 'timeless'? Don't these so called 'timeless classics' sound very specific, too, in this context? Look at "Sergeant Pepper" for instance... I mean, yeah, you can call it unique or whatever, but it is heavily based in 60s kind of music for sure.
ReplyDeleteI don't wanna call Baxter (1998) a timeless classic, but to me there is absolutely no problem with it almost sounding like a stereotype end of nineties chillout/break recording. Just because I love that sound and will always come back to it with joy. There is something unique to Baxter, too. At first glance you might think it really sounds like a Portishead or alike album... but on the other hand, it sounds more like a drum & bass record. Very relaxed d&b. It's right in the middle.
Thanks!
I agree 100%. I think it all just comes down to whether or not people bring passion and personality to the music. There were a ton of groups around this time who did watered-down takes on Massive Attack and Portishead, and all that weak sauce turned trip-hop into a bit of a pop cultural punchline (which is unfortunate because when it's done right, it's one of my absolute favorite styles of music.) Baxter doesn't fall into that category. Like you said, it's not a "timeless classic," but it's really good. Plus, you can tell they have actual production chops, as opposed to some of their peers, who sound like they found a collection of royalty-free pre-set loops and decided to make an album out of it.
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DeleteA very similar record to this is This by Swedish duo Krom (https://www.discogs.com/master/201071-Krom-This), an even more obscure act. The vocalist sounds similar too, and it's in the same vein of dark, dramatic trip hop with hints of dnb.
ReplyDeleteI'll check it out, thanks!
DeleteHi, great stuff. Any chance to rip it in 320 kbps format (it's in VBR, 320 is the best format for my shows). Many thanks!
ReplyDeleteCould've sworn it was 320, but I was wrong. New link is up, have at it. What shows?
DeleteThank a lot Dear_Sîrit! It's a show I have every other Thursday on ISKC Rock Radio. Here's the podcast of the very last show if you want to see what to expect in this show: https://soundcloud.com/user-990667659/podcast-prog-files-lucas-biela-week-29 Have a great WE!
Delete"But their name was nondescript, their vocalist didn't present herself the way that female musicians were/are expected to, and they didn't really write hooks, so no dice."
ReplyDeleteMore to the point, I think, their lyrics were nothing but long strings of seemingly randomly-assembled phrases: "I'll be anything without you/I could turn or being someone else/And almost everything that needs to will be done," etc.
Yeah, that certainly didn't help. Their lyrics are often borderline nonsensical. I had to really search for something that felt worth using for the link quote. They are Swedish, though, and in the realm of English-language pop music, Swedes are known for favoring lyrics that 'feel' right over lyrics that convey a lot of meaning.
DeleteExactly my issue with a lot of Scandinavian/Japanese punk bands. Way too much deference to English-speaking nations.
ReplyDeleteGave this album a second listen. Has an overall gloomy vibe you wouldn't expect with a name like Baxter.
ReplyDeleteYou know your shit, so I was wondering... What else out there combines drum n bass with vocals more or less throughout? I'm a big fan of this, EBTG's "Walking Wounded" and LSD's "Flux" as well. Something in that vein? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWelp, I was gonna say Walking Wounded by Everything But the Girl but then I read the rest of your comment. So shit. I'm honestly drawing a blank. Maybe I'll come up with something later? Sorry.
DeleteResist by Kosheen might be what you are looking for.
Deletei hope you still were looking for this type of music. i really recommend ''Post to wire'' by heather duby
Delete(i can't write this on english so traslate for your own please)
ReplyDeleteConocí hoy mismo este blog casi por accidente y me sorprende mucho haberme encontrado un posteo sobre Baxter, banda que conocí también casi por accidente, una banda que amo dentro de ese grupo de bandas de electronica apocalíptica de fines de los 90. Si bien su sonido está congelado en una época (incluso en ese momento Baxter fue tardío a la escena trip hop/DnB) creo que su sonido es muy original, la forma en que componen y rompen samples, su musica tiene corazón desde luego, lastima que haya sido tan fugaz y no haya ni si quiera videos en vivo de ellos.
Pd: Me gustaría retomar este tipo de sonidos trip hop/dark dub y por eso con mi banda (Paralapsus) estamos en este instante sampleando la batería de ''I can't see why'' de Baxter.