Last month, local grunge pop duo Sad Baxter returned with their first taste of new music since last year, an earnest tune called “The Atmos,” which pondered the untenable distance of a crumbled relationship, and gave us our introductory glimpse at the band’s in-the-works followup to their breakout 2018 EP So Happy. Today, we’re incredibly excited to premiere another new single from Sad Baxter: a hypnotic, self-reflective, and confessional song called “Nothing”.
Another incredibly personal and melancholy tune, this time about navigating anxiety and its personal effects, guitarist/vocalist Deezy Violet explains that “‘Nothing’ is a song about anxiety– I wrote it before I really even knew that word applied to me. To me, this song was about a voice in the back of my head that would go from quietly suggesting little unpleasant thoughts to feeling like it was screaming the worst possible scenarios at me. The last line of the song, ‘nothing’s got a hold on me’ is… a joke–it’s the idea that you can say ‘nothing is really wrong,’ all while knowing that hopeless thoughts about nothingness and pointlessness are always going to be looming over you.”
Adding more personal context, Deezy tells us “When I wrote this song, I’d be out with friends and suddenly feel like I had no business having left my house, so I’d panic and try to figure out how to slip away and go home unnoticed. I’d be stuck at home, trying to reason with myself why I deserved better thoughts than what I had floating around in my mind. It’s kind of scary to realize you have something gnawing at you, always forcing you to think bad thoughts–about yourself, about what could happen to you, about…everything. Every day you have to go about your regular business, and people have no idea there is this crazy inner battle happening. Hence people always saying things like, ‘Why ‘Sad‘ Baxter?’ or ‘For a band with ‘Sad‘ in the name, you seem anything but!'”
Since first hooking us with their 2016 debut, Weirdy, Sad Baxter have never been shy about juxtaposing personal, raw, sad, honest, and sometimes sarcastic themes with more upbeat, grungy, pop accessible, singalong worthy hooks, and judging by their latest tracks, easily the band’s strongest to date, that sad/happy vibe continues on with their next record. Stream “Nothing” below right now, then catch Sad Baxter live July 11, when they return to Drkmttr for a performance with LA’s Potty Mouth (tickets here)!
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