Nat Baldwin has an impressive résumé. He's studied under free jazz guru Anthony Braxton, contributed to Department of Eagles' In Ear Park as well as Vampire Weekend's Contra, and has been the bassist in Dirty Projectors. Over the course of nine years, he's also recorded several solo full-lengths (not to mention a split collaboration with Extra Life) that are equally varied. People Changes, his fifth, is a rich addition.
The recording writing process this time out took Baldwin to a remote cabin in Maine. That sort of setting may sound familiar, and, like Bon Iver's debut splash, this is a record with a wonderful ambiance. Unlike most of 2008's Most Valuable Player, People Changes finds Baldwin largely on his own: just his voice and bass, with help from a few friends. Baldwin sings in a lovely melisma, the same slippery style used by his Dirty Projectors bandmate Dave Longstreth. But while Longstreth's voice will often crunch itself up into grotesque shapes, Baldwin keeps his airborne. It serves as a terrific juxtaposition to the spare arrangements of People Changes. The earthen tones of his double-bass act as both anchor and trampoline for Baldwin's voice, an instrument that flutters and swoops as it pleases.
On opener "A Little Lost", an Arthur Russell cover originally played by its composer on cello, they both begin high. Baldwin is often one to scratch his strings for dissonance, but here, he opts for softer textures-- a sort of bedding. This fits both the song's gentle lyrical gait as well as Baldwin's singing. Where Russell's original worked within a traditional pop template, utilizing choruses and verses, Baldwin's tends to embellish around those borders. It gives everything a wide-open feeling, just as it does it does in closer "Let My Spirit Rise". On paper, lines like "Kiss me once for yourself" might seem like material more suited for navelgazing singer-songwriters. But despite what the arrangement or lack of structure might suggest, this is every bit the pop song. Its fantastic array of textures sets it apart all the more.
Those only grow more interesting as People Changes unfolds. While woodwinds burble in the high-wire drama of "Weights", Baldwin injects blasts of guitar, sax, and snare to the quiet of "Lifted". The brief "What Is There" is an instrumental exploration of his bass in which he conjures elemental groans and belches. And whether Baldwin is singing with his throat or his bow, there's a thrilling feeling of freedom to it all.
