Grand Salami Time!
Omnivore, 2023
10/10
The 4th release from the supergroup of Scott McCaughey (The Minus 5/Young Fresh Fellows), Steve Wynn (The Dream Syndicate), Peter Buck and Mike Mills (R.E.M.) and Linda Pitmon (Filthy Friends), The Baseball Project’s garage rock meets power pop ways are captured here live to tape for a listen that those without baseball interests will still enjoy.
The title track opens the listen with buzzing guitar and Pitmon’s pounding drums making for a sturdy garage rock climate, and “The Yips” follows with the warm rhythm section complementing McCaughey’s smooth pipes amid the soaring guitar solos.
Further along, the calmer textures of “Journeyman” flows with a timeless folk-rock appeal that’s a bit dreamy and recruits Stephen McCarthy’s lap steel, while “Stuff” places Mills on lead vocals for the haunting demeanor that builds into psychedelic ideas of creativity.
Deeper still, the crisp and bright tone of “Having Fun” comes with a slight jangle and no lack of summery melodies, and “The Voice Of Baseball” exits the listen with booming vocals, soothing backing voices and the dynamic and memorable instrumentation you’d expect from a line-up of this caliber.
There’s plenty of supergroups around, and then there’s The Baseball Project. Mitch Easter, who worked with Buck and Mills on the early R.E.M. records, worked his magic on this one, and Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) adds saxophone to a track, too, for 16 flawless tunes.
Travels well with: The Bad Ends- The Power And The Glory; The Jayhawks- XOXO