Perpetual Doom is proud to present the new release from Bill Baird: Astral Suitcase. Inspired by the otherworldly terrain of Iceland, where it was recorded alongside producer Ulfur Hansson, Baird’s new album actually arrives as two: Astral Suitcase offers nine new tracks of towering synth-rock, while Soundtrack presents a series of sweeping instrumental compositions. The result is an immersive musical diptych with roots in the experimental and post-classical traditions that nonetheless resonates with heart-aching immediacy. Astral Suitcase offers dynamic folk-rock songwriting steeped in arctic vastness—from an artist Tiny Mix Tapes has called “one of the last living rock n roll geniuses.”

Baird compares his twin albums to the plan of David Bowie’s pathbreaking masterpiece Low: “one side mutant-pop, the other cerebral landscapes.” Indeed, among the ancient keyboards and studio instruments that crafted the sound of both records, Baird and Hansson utilized the Eventide harmonizer, which defined Bowie’s sound on Low. Here it infuses Baird’s compositions with an ethereal frostiness that feels at once extraterrestrial and deeply personal. This fusion of wild experiment and honest approachability emerges in part from Baird and Hansson’s time together at Mills College, a gathering place for musical avant-garde legends like John Cage, Pauline Oliveros, Fred Frith, and Zeena Parkins. Both are comfortable in radically different styles: Baird has worked with large ensembles, and Hansson once designed the segulharpa instrument used by Bjork. 

And while every track on these records resonates with the passion for the untried and untested found in real pioneers, Baird’s songwriting remains accessible and emotionally impactful. On songs like the single “Night of the Living Dad,” the result is an unexpected alloy of driving tempo and shimmering layers of sound. “World Series of Solitaire” builds to staggering heights, its synths and drums forming a daunting shelf, all while retaining a kind of confessional intimacy Baird’s lyrics strive to form part of the musical terrain, expressing moods often difficult to capture in words. Even so, they invite the listener to join him in a state of thrilling isolation. “All alone from this rock we used to call home,” Baird sings on the gorgeous “Glimmering Sparks.” “Side by side, you and I, float into the unknown.” 

As Baird explains, these are songs designed to transport you. The tracks themselves carry traces of their journey, beginning in the United States but shaped by the spontaneity and strangeness of a journey to Iceland that infuses their final form. “The record sounds like Iceland to me,” he says. “The wide open spaces, the steamy air rising from the volcanic expanse, the liberating confusion of being a foreigner stumbling around a new town, the hopeful longing of the landscape.” 

There can be no better tonic than the liberating confusion Astral Suitcase offers. Take the journey with us.

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Press:​​

• Gorilla Vs. Bear

• Paste Magazine: Best New Songs

• Rosy Overdrive

• The Third Eye

• American Pancake

• The Wild Is Calling

• Last Day Deaf

• As heard on Sirius XMU, Gorrilla Vs. Bear Radio

 

Release Date: April 8, 2024

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Purchase from Bandcamp or Official Store