It's hard to be weird, but embracing your weirdness can be the key to happiness. Or at least, the key to a solid album. Sad Baxter, a duo from Nashville, knows this; their debut album Weirdy comes out on Friday via Cold Lunch Recordings and explores the strangeness of love, like, and existing. The duo is from Nashville, TN and consists of best friends Deezy on guitar and vocals and Alex on drums (though Ellen Angelico played bass on the album). Their tough pop sound leans heavily on grunge, with a nod to Nirvana that shows itself in dissonant choruses and lyrics that radiate self awareness. "I hate you, but I want you," Deezy sings on Weirdy's "The Drip," a song that crunches along pleasingly despite the conflicting emotions it contains: "I don't want you to be someone else/ But I can't watch you go be with someone other than me." On "So Why," they tell us that "brainwaves change" and it's ok "to want to feel all the chemicals making you insane." Sometimes the melody can be the most expressive part of the their songs, the lyrics dissolving into wordless vocalizations as chords swell and crash. This is especially true on "The Big One;" check out the video below, which shows the duo playing with dogs and cats, and performing in various locations (sometimes without realizing the guitar cable isn't plugged in). Pre-order Weirdy here.

ALBUM REVIEWSad Baxter "Weirdy"