EP Review: Baby Strange - 'Land of Nothing'
Reemerging from the great depths of gregarious Glasgow, Johnny Madden, and brothers Connaire and Aidan McCann are intent on bringing back a taste of what we’ve all been missing – the feel of live music.
Biding their time since the release of their 2016 debut album, Want It Need It, Baby Strange are now back, with plenty to show for their absence via a great expanse to their artistry, with EP Land of Nothing. Through what’s been one of the harshest times for music of our generation, they’ve not let go of that beloved feeling of unity we get, which we now crave more than ever.
From the paired-back simplicity into which we’ve all been forced to live, ‘More! More! More!’ calls for the return of excess. “Now that’s what I call music” Madden demands, in a longing for the pre-pandemic days of physical and emotional closeness, of shouting, sweating, dancing together, and feeling alive. Sharing its name with a club night that the band have hosted at The Priory, Glasgow, since 2015, ‘Club Sabbath’ balances a catchy, punchy dancefloor beat with sheer punk passion in a way that they’ve never achieved before. Powerfully reminiscent of the good times, its enough to make you persevere until those wonderful kinds of nights return.
More focused and mature, their writing style is more polished and creative on Land of Nothing, but still with a whole load of Scottish punk heart to it. What they manage to do with this EP is recreate those precious sentiments of live music that we all miss so dearly. Free from the struggles and constraints of the outside world and its devastating consequences on the music industry, it’s an EP to keep you going, to keep your spirits lifted, and to keep you thirsting for more.
Words by Alice Jenner