Lee Baggett ⫸ ⫸ ⫸ ⫸ ⫸ ⫸ ⫸
Lee Baggett, a enigmatic singer-songwriter hailing from the Philippines, has carved a niche for himself in the indie rock world with his ethereal melodies and introspective lyrics. A constant presence in the underground music scene, Baggett's captivating tunes echo with the warmth of West Coast sunsets and the haze of forgotten memories.
A true musical wanderer, Lee Baggett's elusive persona and timeless sound weave a mysterious tapestry that keeps audiences enthralled, leaving them longing for more. With each note, Baggett's music whispers of a hidden world, where the sun never sets and the melodies linger on, transcending time and space.
Lee Baggett's music is represented for
sync licensing by Rollo Grady.
LINKS:
RELEASES
Just A Minute
Perpetual Doom is proud to present the long-awaited, long-lost album from songwriter Lee Baggett: Just a Minute. A West Coast journeyman of many years and sometimes guitarist for Little Wings, Baggett casts something of an enigmatic shadow in the indie rock world. His record—an odd and inviting collection of hazy sunset tunes—feels lost in time too, drifting through the cosmic wind. Unknown in origin, recorded sometime between 1979 and last year, Just a Minute arrives just in time.
These ten songs sound piped in from some beach town purgatory or a vinyl shop at the end of the world. There are rumors they were recorded at Sou’wester Lodge on the coast of Washington, between extensive surf sessions and all-night jams. Appropriately, each track beams with a characteristic lightness. Songs like “There Goes My Toast”—a lighthearted look at global warming, among other things—have a spur-of-the-moment feel, like they were dreamed by friends hanging around between riffs. “Easy” layers Baggett’s distinct warble in service of its outsider credo: “If you’re gonna ramble, ramble hard.” By the end of the track, there are a sea of voices singing: “It’s gonna be easier.” That hopeful sentiment courses throughout the record, settling like that first ray of light over the ocean fog. It touches the album’s more melancholic moments, too. On “Yesterday,” Baggett peers into the past, ruminating on missed communication and a lost loved one: “Maybe when I went to tell you, the words got in the way. Maybe there weren’t any words for what I wanted to say.” Elevated by barroom piano and ambling guitar, it is a touching moment of tribute on an album defined by a penchant for reverie.
Bass guitar on the record includes Sam Farrell and Nick Aives. Mixed by Tommy McDonald and Greg Olin at Range of Light Wilderness and recorded with help from Zeb and Bob Thayer, Just a Minute is at once strange and deeply familiar. It is a summer record for the winter months, something to help you forget the frost. A song like “Backroads,” cooked up on a meandering country drive, sums it all up: “Nothing on my mind, maybe my baby down by the poolside.”
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Release Date: April 30, 2021
Purchase from Official Store or Bandcamp
Sanger Ink Drawings
'Sanger Ink Drawings' is a high-quality, 16-page zine collecting original, mind-bending art by Lee Baggett. These drawings can open up the spirit to another realm, good or bad.
Release Date: April 30, 2021
Purchase from Official Store or Bandcamp
Anyway
Lee Baggett began a new chapter of his eclectic and varied songwriting career with the 2021 release of Just A Minute, and he’s continuing his experimental streak with his latest full length, Anyway. The seasoned musician is changing his stripes again with this 10-song collection by leaning into a more rollicking sound at times, as evidenced by the brisker feeling “Fruit Dog,” the album’s lead single, and the bustling and twangy penultimate track, “Highway Roll.” By embracing more country-tinged sonic elements like banjo, organ-sounding keys, and harmonica, Baggett is able to weave through winding narratives that poignantly parse through the challenging nature of change and evolution. On “Highway Roll,” he confronts how landscapes and settings he once knew are now unrecognizable, and takes that motif a step further on “Earlier Than The World” by achingly and vividly describing “concrete and rubble” amongst a sea of delicate, yet biting guitar riffs. Escape seems to be a viable option for Baggett with “Sink In My Dreams” and “Dust In The Wind” serving as the album’s soothing remedies, inviting the listener to sit back and get lost in Baggett’s mesmerizing guitar playing. His nimble guitar work is a prominent fixture on Anyway, acting as a crux at several key points. It resonates forcefully and feels emotionally charged. Just take the meandering bridge on “Earlier Than The World” as a prime example of how Baggett can aptly convey feeling through riffs.
Delving deeper into Anyway finds some familiar sounds, with songs like “Oh Well” and “Anyway” evoking the seaside melancholy of Baggett’s prior works. But there’s decidedly more intimacy hidden in the crevices of his words and hooks. Throughout, Baggett uses his refined storytelling skills to share his relatable fears and coping mechanisms, his river-like path to unexpectedly finding love, and his musings on an ever-changing world, amongst other experiences. His conversational disposition, folk-styled lyricism, and emotive sonic backdrops make for an immersive listening experience. - Tom Gallo
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Release Date: Sept. 30, 2022
Purchase from Official Store or Bandcamp
Echo Me On
The enigma that is eclectic singer-songwriter Lee Baggett reaches all new emotional depths with his latest album, Echo Me On.
Perpetual Doom is proud and excited to share this dynamic new entry in Baggett’s hyper-distinctive discography. The Philippine-born artist and occasional Little Wings guitarist cut the album’s ten tracks in San Francisco’s Juniper House in 2022 with a full band, a gang of backup singers and a full string section. The surreal poignancy of Baggett’s poetic lyrics carry even more weight than usual here, as his reedy vocals are beautifully supported by this perfectly arranged assortment of sympathetic violins and cellos, honky-tonk piano and swelling mid-60s country choir.
Baggett is joined by Zeb Zaitz on drums and keys, Nick Aives on guitars and keys and
Anthony Zaitz on bass guitar. All three also share backup vocal duties with Judy Butterfield, Anya Rome and Bob Thayer. Meanwhile, Cory Gray handled the horns, organ and string arrangements while Amanda Lawrences and Emma Woods played violin/viola and cello, respectively.
From the Dixieland jazz-waltz of “Hideaway with Me” to the stripped down McCartney-meets-Dylan-like ballad that is “Simmer Down,” all of the songs on Echo Me On have pangs of wistfulness, even in the album’s lighter moments. The tranquil vibe of the album’s instrumentation coupled with Baggett’s thin but raw vocal delivery gives these tracks the rich breezy melancholia that you can’t help but enjoy. This is especially true with the record’s bittersweet closing number, “Weeds and Flowers:”
“Babies turn to teenagers, and then they turn to women and men as the old, they get to the edge, and it all comes back around. Send out a good vibration on this trail you’re traveling on”
On this track, as well as throughout the rest of the LP, you get the sense that you’re hearing the words of wisdom of a soul that’s looking back on a long and eventful life. A life that had seen its fair share of other lives enter and exit the world. A life full of stories and adventures. A good life. Get to know this record well, and learn from its road weary observations.
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As heard on WFMU
Release Date: December 22, 2023
Purchase from Official Store or Bandcamp