Todd Roberts
Todd C. Roberts, creator of Truant Media, has the daunting task of bagging one of the most ubiquitous but elusive and mystifying elements in all of nature: Youth Culture.
“Cerulean” offers a crowded landscape of fantastic melodies and beats—all infused with and galvanized by the raw and effusive emotionality Baths’ creator, Will Wiesenfeld. Sometimes relying on the light emotional delivery of a piano, other times relying on a heavy explosion of sounds, “Cerulean” is an overwhelming yet bright experience. Wiesenfeld has created a richly layered debut album worthy of sustained attention.
Utilizing this much talent on album was surely no small task, but the vision of Olson, Coulter, and Hurlburt keeps this album cohesive. And the steady 69 BPM on every track helps as well. “The Gaudy Side of Town” opens with distorted beatboxing, and then drums take over and the track melts into a smooth groove. Saxophone riffs and echoing drifting vocals sweep through the rest of the track. The rest of the album slips from track to track with seamless trippy transitions. “The Walker” starts with a gunshot, and cool calculated guitar picking marches its way with the woeful vocals. It’s the perfect soundtrack for a Sergio Leone western. And then there’s “Cry”, and “No Sweat”, and “The Last Prom On Earth” with its perfect execution of the pathos and heightened emotion of an 80s prom… and I could go on. Really, the whole album is excellent.
