Dijon Figures Out Fatherhood on 'Baby'
Building on ‘Absolutely”s boundless composition but from a less frenetic and more focused, family-oriented perspective.
Summary
- Dijon has shared his second solo studio album, BABY
- Clocking in at 12 tracks, BABY arrives on the heels of the musician’s major year, contributing to both Bon Iver’s SABLE, fABLE, and Justin Bieber’s SWAG
- Named after his son, the album includes tracks entitled “Another Baby!,” “HIGHER!,” and “Kindalove”
The samples have cleared, and BABY, Dijon‘s sophomore studio album, is here at last.
To backtrack the past few weeks, after Justin Bieber shook the scene with SWAG – on which Dijon contributed to tracks “YUKON,” “THINGS YOU DO,” “DAISES,” and “DEVOTION” – Dijon took to his Instagram story to confirm that his next longform record was imminent, sharing a tracklist for a project dubbed BABY, which is also the name of his son.
Last week, he shared a countdown on his website to BABY’s release, with the caveat “unless the samples don’t get cleared.”
Materializing right on time, a little under four years after its pioneering predecessor, Absolutely, and fresh off the understated musician’s most front-facing year yet, having a hand in two of the biggest albums of the year – Bon Iver‘s SABLE, fABLE and Bieber’s SWAG – the universally awaited LP is exactly what we’ve been eyeing from Dijon after his recent solo hiatus of sorts.
While lyrically, the 12-track BABY is primarily a solo endeavor, the project is a homegrown, heartfelt family affair, a musing on Dijon’s little familial unit that now includes his young son. Since Absolutely‘s release, Dijon’s not-so-quiet influence on the music zeitgeist has only gotten clearer in focus, the refreshingly raw album (and its dining room live performance visual) paving the road for a new era of intimate, improvisational-feeling sonic experimentation.
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A contemporary blueprint for what it truly means to blend genres (beyond just the buzzword), the still rather under-the-radar Absolutely established an ether in which Mk.gee’s Two Star & The Dream Police and Matt Champion’s Mika’s Laundry could not only exist, but be properly appreciated. Something he seemed to don with pride, the musician’s IYKYK label, this might be the project that puts Dijon on the mainstream map. Clinging to his ability to amalgamate deeply introspective lyricism with needle-pushing production tactics, Dijon does what he does best on the new album, equipped with a more honed sound and (just slightly) more polished production.
1. Baby!
2. Another Baby!
3. HIGHER!
4. (Freak It)
5. Yamaha
6. FIRE!
7. (Referee)
8. Rewind
9. my man
10. loyal & marie
11. Automatic
12. Kindalove
Introductory track “Baby!” (a mastered version of the “BABY burner” rough cut linked on the BABY album countdown) brings us into the new album’s world, almost structurally resembling a newborn’s first hours, sonically stumbling through different loops and sampling bits of conversations. However, all of Dijon’s redirections are highly intentional, studied swerves into terrain that isn’t entirely unexplored, but rather unexplored by him as a father. Every one of his candid compositional shifts is, in fact, thought through, each choice of experimentation made with utmost care.
The sweeping “Another Baby!” ushers in the next feeling of a childlike contentment through its shimmery synth arrangement, while “HIGHER” continues to revel in the peaks of Dijon’s fatherhood journey, and “(Freak It)” brings in a more sultry undertone by way of hushed vocals.
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On track five, “Yamaha,” evocative of Absolutely‘s “Many Times,” Dijon leans into his layering of loops, instrumentals, and lyrics, creating an immersive, chaotic effect – though, as opposed to on the more frenetic Absolutely, here, the chaos is controlled. It’s more focused.
Following “FIRE!” comes the textured “(Referee),” which is reminiscent of a comedown, and, a particular high point of the album, “Rewind.” A masterclass in meticulous layering, glitchy guitars coalesce atop Dijon’s earnest pondering of questions. “my man” marks one of the longer songs on the album and takes a true tapestry form, a piecing together of repetitive raspy crooning, vast backing melodies, and a spacey outro.
In the final stretch, “loyal & marie” spotlights Dijon’s gleaming falsetto, giving way for the sample-led “Automatic” and true-to-form Dijon love song, “Kindalove.” It’s a perfect ending for a project that, while more patchwork-y in persona, is all connected by one unwavering throughline: unconditional love.
Stream BABY – out everywhere now.
