Album Review: DERBY - Slugger

Despite its straightforward sonic influence he is carrying on his sleeves, DERBY manages to create something that he can call his own. ‘Slugger’ is brimming with charm and compassion, only amplified with a strong grasp on compositions and production that allows him to swing with success.

Within recent times, where Dijon and Mk.gee’s presence has never felt more influential and impactful - with Justin Bieber, Bon Iver, and Matt Champion having very much touched up on their presence in their projects now - DERBY slides into their sonic markings in a straightforward, albeit interesting way on his debut album, ‘Slugger’. Presenting a bare simplicity towards this flourishing fusion of bedroom pop, indietronica, and R&B, where his compositions and production are actually well-realized. Building up concise, yet thought-out melodies that swerve across textured instrumentation and layers of vocal effects. Some of the latter additions might have cut away DERBY’s charismatic performances (“Deer in the Belly of the Snake” and “Ultraviolet” especially), but for the most part, they do give more flavor and style across the record. Whether that be the jammy ruckus of “Money Fight” and “Gold” coming through the rattling drums and nimble guitars; the hypnotic melodic repetition across “Two Step”, “100°”, and “Move Like That” that ends up growing more and more with every listen; the pedal steel accents that only add warmth to the sweetness of “Mother Mary”; and the last two tracks “Shotgun” and “Armored” that takes its directions to slower, and pensive compositions, adding enough vocoders and phasers to keep the tone more vividly settled.

This is also where the bareness and all those production effects paint more to DERBY’s way of yearning, where amidst those quaint, homespun details that come from someone living in Texas, there is a quiet shakeup that is displayed in his relationship with Jenny. One where her fickle outbursts and internal anxiety might crash and burn the entire romance, but that doesn’t really affect DERBY that much. He lets his door open for her to enter. His love for her is warm and accepting. The kind that never abandons the other, only providing more compassion for her.

‘Slugger’ is quite the stunning record, not just for DERBY’s already strong command in making striking tunes and well-refined mixes, but also for the way that he allows a straightforward sonic and lyrical style to end up so warm, compassionate, and uniquely his own. There’s a way for him to branch off and expand upon this starting point, but it is a dot on the map that pretty much netted him a feature on Kevin Abstract’s recent record. With a strong grasp of his identity, he may be able to become a better slugger in the future.

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Favorite Tracks: ‘Money Fight’, ‘Move Like That’, ‘Mother Mary’, ‘Gold’, ‘Two Step’, ‘100°’, ‘Shotgun’, ‘Armored’

Least Favorite Track: ‘Ultraviolet’