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From the Philippines to the West coast of the United States, Lee Baggett has been on a long, strange trip, lost in time, and his new collection, Songs for a Begull, continues his weird, wild journey. With guitar riffs that breathe an early Neil Young-ian fire to tunes destined for top 40 radio consumption, he finds ways for his earworms to burrow into your brain. Mixing styles and metaphors, the fuzz on his guitar merges with the fallacies of thinking that everything is going to make literal sense.
Some things need to be felt and absorbed, like Sea Turtle, where in the blink of an eye, swimming shifts to sailing the skies, “flying out across an ocean of space into a deeper aqua green/ out to an extraterrestrial beach gliding on your sea turtle wings.” Yet just as quickly the pathway becomes clearer to the untrained eye, “stuck in the chaos of modern man wondering where is the love/ bring back the dream of a world full of peace all you need’s a little shove.” In a renewed Trumpian future, we need that shove more than ever.
Amidst the beauty and buzz of his sustain on Good Foot Day, he seems to have found answers to questions that bother many. “Fresh formed dreams and shapes unseen/ crack in the mirror of the pool crack in the ice that you’re stepping on/ good foot day is keeping me away from the side of the dark sky.” The skies may be dark, but beginning the journey, planting your foot on the solid grounding of good dreams makes all the difference.
While his playing may sometimes recall Neil of old, the lyrics bend to a more positive vibe that seems to find new ways to discover joy. As the autumn winds begin to pick up, there still appears to be Enough Sunshine to deal with the darker days, “Leaves are crackling yellow/ and dry geese are honking echelons high the sky/ one last busy bee is working overtime/ crows are gathering by the power line/ and it’s getting all cozy on the inside with your radio low and your little lamp light“; it leaves you with the feeling that everything will eventually be alright.
The album is released on Perpetual Doom, who, despite the name, offer glimmers of light when we most need them. On Songs for a Begull, Lee Baggett provides those sunny skies to guide us, like the sun beckons the turtle on the album cover, and despite the ultimate night darkness, another dawn is never that far away. Waves for a Begull may well be the antidote we need for these troubled times, and you can take another dose as often as you need it.
Songs for a Begull (1st November 2024) Perpetual Doom
Bandcamp: https://perpetualdoom.bandcamp.com/album/waves-for-a-begull
