Bill Baird

Spring Break of the Soul (Pau Wau)

Bill Baird swims in his own ocean of shattered analog pop, tides that envelop in invitingly warm melodies and crash with sudden disorienting intensity. The local pop-savant lulls the listener out to sea, adrift and anchorless, clinging to the slightest hook as he constructs a Prospero-like world amid the tempest. New double LP Spring Break of the Soul, complete with a 32-page scrapbook, may be the former Sound Team member’s most ambitious work yet, its title track leading a percussive chant as prologue, followed by a cover of Christopher Cross’ “Sailing” so ethereal that it threatens to float away. The sax blast of “World Gone Deaf” sways easily as Baird eschews the world around him (see also “Lost at Sea,” “Blob,” “Go to Mexico”), but moments like the bizarrely aggressive “Bow Down to the Brain” break any developing charm. Baird builds constantly compelling escapes, but it’s not a paradise for the faint of heart.

**.5

This article appears in April 12 • 2013.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US

Doug Freeman has been writing for the Austin Chronicle since 2007, covering the arts and music scene in the city. He is originally from Virginia and earned his Masters Degree from the University of Texas. He is also co-editor of The Austin Chronicle Music Anthology, published by UT Press.