Earlier this year Austin, TX based Gus Baldwin & The Sketch released a peppy new wave meets punk rock album simply called The Sketch. Now, lead vocalist and namesake Gus Baldwin is back with a solo, self-titled album too, out as of Oct. 24 on Permanent Teeth label.
While The Sketch used a punk rock spirit blended with a highly caffienated peppy approach, this time the punk spirit continues to a tune of more explorative psych rock.
"Getting this record together was a long, roundabout, and very confusing journey to say the least. I never had the intention of ever making a solo record, or being a so-called 'solo artist'," Baldwin tells us, but circumstance took over and we get a second LP as a reward.
"Most of the tracks on the record were originally conceived during the pandemic, right around the time I made the journey from Denton, TX to my current hometown of Austin. At the time, I was writing these songs for my old group, Acid Carousel, but soon found myself no longer involved with that project, but still had all these tunes I'd amassed over the years. The Sketch was just in its earliest days of infancy, so I just brought my gear over to our then keyboard player Ramiro Verdooren's house and started tracking stuff by myself like I was used to doing at home, while he manned his old Tascam 388. We'd get a day in here and there, have friends over occasionally to add something on, but there was a very relaxed approach to making the album, which I think I hear when I listen back to it now. It's a record that was a fun creative outlet for me while I was trying to figure out who I was again."
Listen here (just click the "tracklist" button for a full view):
Gus Baldwin & The Sketch will hit the road with Bass Drum of Death tonight for a monthlong haul that covers the southwest and western US.
"It's pretty wild to me that the release of this record perfectly coincided with us getting asked to go out on the road with Bass Drum of Death for a few weeks of dates. For both the dudes in the band and myself, that band had a huge impact on us when we were young impressionable teenagers," Baldwin recalls.
"I will never forget going to see my then favorite band, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, at the House of Blues in Dallas probably in 2012 and being absolutely floored by BDOD's opening performance. It was one of those moments where you realized you were gonna leave that show with a new favorite band, and a whole new scene of music to dive into. It was even more cosmic of a moment getting the call this summer, cause I had just agreed to join up with Night Beats on drums for a tour opening for BRMC, then having to make that dreaded phone call to my dear buddy Danny Lee telling him I had to go out with my band instead. Just as it was all those years ago, Bass Drum of Death still has that same pull on me. Can't wait for the tour!”
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You can purchase the album here and stream it here.
GUS BALDWIN & THE SKETCH LIVE 2025:
10/30 Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall *
11/01 Dallas, TX - Ferris Wheelers *
11/02 Austin, TX - Empire Control Room *
11/05 Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar *
11/06 Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy *
11/07 San Diego, CA - Brick by Brick *
11/08 San Francisco, CA - Brick and Mortar *
11/10 Sacramento, CA - Harlow’s *
11/12 Seattle, WA - Madame Lou’s *
11/13 Yakima, WA - Bearded Monkey Music
11/14 Portland, OR - Dante’s *
11/15 Boise, ID - Shrine Social Club *
11/17 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge *
11/19 Denver, CO - Marquis *
11/20 Ft Collins, CO - The Coast *
11/21 Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck *
11/22 Columbia, MO - Rose Music Hall *
* w/ Bass Drum of Death
