Bandcamp Artist of the Week: Bakus

You may know Bakus as SYFFAL contributor Brandon Backhaus AKA the always adorable Brando, our Los Angeles correspondent who isn’t obsessed with electronic music, wrist bands and being the sweaty kid on designer drugs at fringe music festivals, that honor is saved for Del.

Brandon actually first came to our attention when he won our monthly Floppy Seconds contest with his track "The Great Depression", which is actually featured on the EP.

Shortly after he submitted the track and ended up winning the contest, young Brando hit us up about contributing, sent us a few write ups and made us cry the tears that only a man who has been on the inside can cry.

Like most of us, he was also a musician and has been touring, drinking and being the basic malcontent that all musicians naturally are. He has finally dropped his long discussed EP Breaking Bakus, which is a tasty little gem of an EP that is drenched in Brando’s working class wit and feels a lot like something Hank Williams might have dropped if he was a dick headed rapper from Los Angeles in the waning years of the American empire/launch of the American feudal system.

Throughout Breaking Bakus there is a sense that this is a man hanging on by a thread. The production with its acoustic flare and southern rock/country vibe give Breaking Bakus the feel of a small town desert town that is habitually dusty and has seen better days. Couple that with Bakus’ urgent delivery that feels as though it might burst out of his chest if he doesn’t force it out, the whole project feels as though it is a matter of life or death.

There is a warmth and sincerity with Breaking Bakus that makes me like Brando more than I already did. I appreciate the artistry, the fact that it feels like it is something he had to do, not some shit he does to kill time. Bakus is an artist, with ambition, fire and feel, but also with a job, a family, and ultimately a perspective that needs to be felt, addressed and delivered.

I suggest throwing this fucker in the manpod, hopping in your car with your dog and heading out to the open highway. Wait for the sun to start setting, open your windows and toss this fucker on. You won’t regret it.