Gothic whimsy replaces otherwise dark, nocturnal themes in the music video for guUs’ “Baron Saturday,” but just one look at the visual scheme for this piece will indicate how much appreciation this player has for the history of Nola blues. There’s a lack of urgency in his voice that suggests a comfortability with the searing melodic environment most just can’t connect with, and it only gets stronger as the song presses on. “Baron Saturday” is quite the alluring visualizer, but it’s not the only reason why I think a lot of people are getting intrigued by guUs’ music at the moment.
In terms of its instrumental prowess, I think the other single this artist has out right now, “Moonhangin Man,” might be the more superior of the two critics have been discussing lately, but it’s also working with a more complicated jazz foundation than its counterpart is. Where “Baron Saturday” rejects rigidity with its jagged beat, “Moonhangin Man” walks into the avant-garde with one hesitant step after another, the brooding lead vocal of guUs serving as the brightest light in a dimly lit alleyway of a composition. It’s lusty and mysterious, and precisely the kind of look a player like this one can make his own.
I like that guUs isn’t afraid of his depth as a singer, and both of these new singles give us a pretty good idea of how hard he’s willing to push himself to get the most out of a bold harmony. “Moonhangin Man” is more minimalistic than “Baron Saturday” is, but either track has a toned presence on the speakers that is made so because of how emphatic a singer he is. This isn’t a halfhearted pair of performances in the least, but instead a nice teaser for what I imagine to be quite the endearing stage show.
Being sophisticated and blue-collar at the same time is next to impossible for a lot of artists in every genre of music, but somehow, someway, guUs has found a way to embody the best of both worlds in his sound, and this fact is front and center for everyone to appreciate in “Moonhangin Man” and “Baron Saturday.” One has to wonder how much more he could experiment with his limits without falling off of an aesthetical cliff, and truth be told, I think there’s actually a lot of room left for him to toy with his artistry, if for no other reason than to entice a larger audience.
