Vampire Weekend's Chris Baio Announces Solo LP 'Dead Hand Control', Shares Two New Songs
Wednesday, 18 November 2020
Written by Jon Stickler
Vampire Weekend's Chris Baio has shared details of his third solo album.
'Dead Hand Control' will arrive on January 29 via Glassnote Records, following up 2017's 'Man Of The World' and its predecessor 'The Names', released in 2015.
The LP was recorded over 18 months between Damon Albarn's London 13 Studios and Baio's C+C Music Factory studio in Los Angeles, while its eight tracks were penned by the bassist himself, except the epic 10-minute closer O.M.W., which was co-written with his Vampire Weekend bandmate Ezra Koenig.
The title comes from a rumoured Soviet missile system designed to destroy America (Dead Hand), and a legal strategy for attempting to control the beneficiaries of your will after you die (Dead Hand Control). Baio said of its origin:
"I was looking at the past five years of American life and obsessing about topics like death, wills and nuclear war. But at its heart, it’s about how the only thing you can control is the way you treat the people in your life."
As a preview, Baio has shared two songs; Endless Me, Endlessly and What Do You Say When I'm Not There?. The former is an '80s pop inspired track, while the latter has a much more bass-driven sound. He explained:
"Endless Me, Endlessly is a simple song about being there in every possible capacity for someone else. Through hard times just as much as good times. In a way, it's a bit of a fantasy - a single person cannot be everything to someone else. Lately, though, I have found fantasy to be a thing of comfort.
"What Do You Say When I’m Not There? is the polar opposite emotionally. It's an ode to insecurity and the fact that you can never truly know what is going on in someone else's mind. With this song I tried to strike a pointed contrast between melancholy lyrics and an upbeat, sunny energy."
'Dead Hand Control' tracklist:
1. Dead Hand Control
2. Endless Me, Endlessly
3. What Do You Say When I’m Not There?
4. Dead Hand
5. Take It From Me
6. Caisse Noire
7. Never Never Never
8. O.M.W.
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