***"Lee Baggett began a new chapter of his eclectic and varied songwriting career with the 2021 release of Just A Minute, and he’s continuing his experimental streak with his latest full length, Anyway. The seasoned musician is changing his stripes again with this 10-song collection by leaning into a more rollicking sound at times, as evidenced by the brisker feeling “Fruit Dog,” the album’s lead single, and the bustling and twangy penultimate track, “Highway Roll.” By embracing more country-tinged sonic elements like banjo, organ-sounding keys, and harmonica, Baggett is able to weave through winding narratives that poignantly parse through the challenging nature of change and evolution. On “Highway Roll,” he confronts how landscapes and settings he once knew are now unrecognizable, and takes that motif a step further on “Earlier Than The World” by achingly and vividly describing “concrete and rubble” amongst a sea of delicate, yet biting guitar riffs. Escape seems to be a viable option for Baggett with “Sink In My Dreams” and “Dust In The Wind” serving as the album’s soothing remedies, inviting the listener to sit back and get lost in Baggett’s mesmerizing guitar playing. His nimble guitar work is a prominent fixture on Anyway, acting as a crux at several key points. It resonates forcefully and feels emotionally charged. Just take the meandering bridge on “Earlier Than The World” as a prime example of how Baggett can aptly convey feeling through riffs."—Tom Gallo
LP $25.35
01/16/2023
***Perpetual Doom is proud to present the long-awaited, long-lost album from songwriter Lee Baggett: Just a Minute. A West Coast journeyman of many years and sometimes guitarist for Little Wings, Baggett casts something of an enigmatic shadow in the indie rock world. His record—an odd and inviting collection of hazy sunset tunes—feels lost in time too, drifting through the cosmic wind. Unknown in origin, recorded sometime between 1979 and last year, Just a Minute arrives just in time. These ten songs sound piped in from some beach town purgatory or a vinyl shop at the end of the world. There are rumors they were recorded at Sou’wester Lodge on the coast of Washington, between extensive surf sessions and all-night jams. Appropriately, each track beams with a characteristic lightness.
LP $25.35
09/02/2022