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Summer Walker | “Pull Up”
After beating ABBA in a race to the top of the charts last year, Summer Walker has released a new EP, Clear 2: Soft Life, which mines both the humor and the pathos of modern-day romance. On one track, “New Type,” she engages in dysfunctional banter with a character played by Childish Gambino, whom she compares to Erykah Badu’s infamous “Tyrone.” It’s a continuation of the time-honored tradition of antagonistic duets along the lines of Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, or Brandy and Monica.
Elsewhere, Walker organizes her scattered thoughts while speeding aimlessly down I-285 in a “ride I’m not proud of.” Here on this track, though, she lets her ethereal, expressive vocals take us from excitement to resignation and back. The video’s sultry, artful visuals capture the mixed emotions of a woman sneaking out of her house for a man who is not worth her time.
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Lauren Morrow | “Nobody But Me”
If you’ve been watching the Showtime series Yellowjackets, about a stranded girls’ soccer team out in the wilderness — where cannibalism and plain old adolescence trade off as the biggest obstacle to survival — this may somewhat remind you of that show’s scorching theme song/general vibe. Indeed, the resurgence of ’90s rock, and especially the ferocious women rockers of the era, is in full, glorious swing. In that vein, singer Lauren Morrow directly cites the great Tori Amos as an influence for this new single off her new album, People Talk.
It’s the latest step in Morrow’s solo career, after a successful run with celebrated Americana band The Whiskey Gentry, which she founded with her husband, Jason. She may have recently relocated to Nashville, but Atlanta will always be home. Be sure to catch her at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur on June 30.
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Baby and the Pacifiers | “Side Show”
Baby and The Pacifiers, the cabaret-style band of the 1980s that never quite hit it big, mixed glam rock with New Wave and were seemingly quite well known across Atlanta in the 1980s. And yet, because they started and stopped in the pre-internet days, there’s a kind of mystique that hangs around their history.
The digital footprint that we can find is telling. Grammys mogul Michele Caplinger mentions them in passing during an interview with journalist Richard Eldredge on his blog. And a January 1982 article in the Athens Red and Black advertises an upcoming concert by Baby and the Pacifiers, dubbing them “another Atlanta band that’s obscure for all the right reasons . . .” Oh yes? Do tell.
Perhaps the most detail that can be found is a profile of the enigmatic band from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution archives (in the now-defunct “Nightbeat” column), which attempts to describe them in a variety of intriguing ways. For one thing, we’ve got the tongue-in-cheek: “. . . they certainly represent a contrast to, say, Jimmy Buffett. But the group does show promise.”
And then, we get a portrait of frontman Maurice Sabloff, aka “Baby Maurice.” “On stage, Baby Maurice is the group’s most dynamic performer. Wierd (sic) facial expressions and a kind of spraddled-leg jump are characteristic of his energy.”
Along with Baby Maurice on vocals and guitar, the group comprised someone responding to “Society Laroo” on drums, a guy going by the name “Hoppie” on keys, Joe Riccio aka “Joey Cruel” on bass and Dave Eiland on saxophone. Also, though it’s unclear who the women singing on our Vintage Track of the Week are, boy, are they killing it.
Sabloff cited a variety of influences to his song craftsmanship, ranging from Stevie Wonder to Barry Manilow. The band’s most frequently mentioned ditties at the time included deadpan titles like “I Am a Moron” and “After You Jump (Can I Have Your Stereo).”
Be sure to check out the new ArtsATL Atlanta Soundtrack playlist on Spotify!
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