Baby Baby – “Keep Me Under Your Arms”

Baby Baby is a very promising garage-rock group out of Chicago, able to churn out a ferocious, hook-filled sound despite youthfulness and relatively lo-fi production methods. Like on early Deerhunter and Ariel Pink records, the DIY techniques contribute positively to exceptional songwriting. Baby Baby are on the very accessible side of things, citing influences ranging from Tame Impala and The Strokes to The Zombies and The Ronnettes. It shows an appreciation for rock of the past and present. The many excellent tracks on their eponymous debut full-length album evoke that sort of timeless quality; it sounds like it could have been recorded in the early ’70s with Marc Bolan, the ’00s with The Strokes and Franz Ferdinand, or just recently — as they did, combining a boatload of talent and inspirations in the process.

Baby Baby features plenty of highlights throughout its 11 offerings. “Pleasure Gun” resembles peak Franz Ferdinand in its assuredly chugging nature, while the opener “Keep Me Under Your Arms” projects a lusher soundscape hearkening to the aforementioned Deerhunter. This track is particularly interesting in its transitioning from Deerhunter-like verses to a boisterously infectious chorus, which alternates between devastatingly emotional guitar lines and the rising intensity of Alex Rebek’s vocals. It’s the full package as far as displaying Baby Baby’s talents, which are also glowing on the distorted, surf-friendly “Taller in the Sunshine” and the aptly titled “Smoke Rings”, a swanky psych-rock ditty with roaring Jim Morrison-like vocals.

Baby Baby are one of the most promising groups I’ve come across recently. Check out the entirety of their debut full-length on Bandcamp, or stream it below:

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