baseball hat Releases ‘who cares for good intentions?’
Can you briefly describe what the song/each song is about? If you are releasing an album then either describe the thinking behind the project or choose a couple of lead tracks to focus on.
We didn't really know what to do with the noise of the constant barrage of information, misinformation, forward motion, regression, fear, and hope that contemporary America society is smashing you with constantly. That noise is a big character literally and metaphorically on the record. Explicitly it's in things like "UTube Girls" and "Mona Lisa", which both contain references to an event where the two of us went to an Anti Gun protest in DC and ended up having to run away because of an active shooter scare. In other ways it's cheekier like referencing Juuling instead of smoking cigs on "Holy Ghost" the song on the record that has the most classic American rock and roll feel.
Is there a particular ethos behind the single/EP/album or any particular music styles or events that inspired it?
It's a response and a reaction to just how overstimulated we both felt living inside the continued fall out of everything that has happened in the US since 2016. We didn't want to write a pandemic album and we didn't want to write another breakup album- so we both sort of asked each other the question of "what is it like to live in this social moment?" and everything sparked from there. I think we landed right where we wanted- an exploration of the crushing everyday existence and the choice to keep moving through.
Who are the band members and what do they play?
baseball hat is a band composed of multi instrumentalist/producer duo Harrison Smith and John Sygar. Both play and record a variety of instruments on each song with Sygar's indie guitar riffs and Smith's soundscapes serving as the launchpads for many songs.
What are the band's main influences?
Centrally, we will always be rooted in pop music and indie rock. It's what we both grew up on and what is the constant in both of our tastes. While we were recording this album, we were listening to everything from City Pop to Brazilian disco to Stephen Sondheim to Alvvays.
Please provide a one or two-line personal quote that can be attributed to a band member, about either the band themselves or the release. Obviously the more eye-catching this is the better.
"We are a duo not afraid to experiment with style. This is an album that is aimed at giving the listener a cathartic, hopeful, and exciting journey. A musical exploration of the crushing everyday existence"- John Sygar. "I'm proud to be part of a collection of songs that are there for you to crank in equal measure on your best days and your worst at the end of the world"-Harrison Smith
