Beach Baby are so close to breaking free of their hardship...if only they had the motivation. 'Lost Soul' embodies this spirit of perhaps(s) and maybes: "I don't know, what you know, but I will do soon, yeah I will do soon. And I could, and I would." We'd try but we're busy, uh, planning our attempt.
The title track carries the reluctant self-awareness which marries intellectual indifference, inherent laziness painstakingly masked by stuttering superiority. Yet there is a real sincerity to the cycle of despair, a human touch which distinguishes Beach Baby from their sluggish stoner-rock contemporaries.
"And when I close my eyes I find I'm left behind. That's alright, yeah never mind." This passive acceptance of dejection runs throughout the album, providing a compelling antonym to the competitive rhetoric ceaselessly drilled into society.
'Sleeperhead' and acclaimed single 'Limousine' explore the fantasies of wealth and prosperity with far more conviction, a rosier outlook of what life should be, if only it were possible. Being a sleeperhead is the dream; or to put it less delicately, having enough time to sleep is.
But here comes the Beach Baby subversion. Working an 8 hour daytime shift then driving home to a loving family is idealised, but to what extent is it actually desired? Is the nuclear family the dream or the nightmare? Beach Baby have got no life, or rest, but at least they're living.
'Hot Weather's' hazy opening beautifully exhibits the Beach Baby philosophy: "How do I get you? I'm out of luck and you're still out of sight..." Keep trying, Beach Baby, and we'll keep listening.
Words Glenn Houlihan
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