Austin Sound

These two self-released albums from Sound Team bassist Bill Baird were supposedly meant to go together, though how so is not exactly clear. But then trying to make the instrumental Silence! and the acoustic oriented {{{Sunset}}} mesh is a fairly trivial endeavor, and one that it would appear Baird promotes in his characteristically playful/enigmatic manner. Baird seems to allow nothing to be taken too seriously, yet simultaneously infuses everything he does with an abstracted and even aloof sincerity and seriousness that it’s difficult to gage which aspect is actually undermining the other. This is the brilliance and frustration of his two latest releases as well. As if capturing that split outlook, both albums show moments of extraordinary beauty, subtlety and songwriting while also continually pushing the songs (and listener) with experimental turns, occasionally naïve lyrics and an aesthetic that seems to never want to leave well-enough alone.

11/20/06
Bill Baird, bassist for Sound Team, has just released two home-made albums and is planning a solo tour up the east coast this December. The CD’s, entitled {{{Sunset}}} and Silence! are intended to be companion pieces though they are being sold separately. {{{Sunset}}} showcases some of Baird’s more acoustic songs, swinging through shades of Wilco, though not with a few bursts of horns and electric riffs. The second CD, Silence, is all instrumental with some chanting thrown in for good measure.

In addition to the double CDs, which may be purchased from his website, Baird is planning to release a DVD of short videos that he made at End of an Ear on December 3. The End of an Ear show is currently his only in Austin, though a couple in San Antonio and Houston are scheduled before he embarks north, including a “political guerrilla concert” outside of the Clear Channel World Headquarters in San Antonio on Wednesday the 22nd. Here’s the full list his solo dates: