… Read Full Bio ↴Will Wiesenfeld AKA Baths was born in 1989, in Los Angeles, California.
Wiesenfield is a classically trained musician, and began learning the piano at the age of four “to compete with his brother”. By twelve he had “completely abandoned it,” but continual musical experimenting lead him to record his first piece of music at age fourteen. Under a previous moniker, [Post-foetus], he wrote four albums and three EPs. He also ventured into a more ambient style with side-project Geotic, a project which Irish magazine State.ie called “gorgeous”.
After adopting the name Baths, he released debut album Cerulean on independent record label Anticon. He recorded the entire album in two months from his bedroom. The BBC’s Mike Diver claims Baths’ nearest musical sound-a-like is chillwave musician Toro Y Moi. Pitchfork noted Baths’ influences, acts such as Björk and Flying Lotus, were “obvious” in his work.
Drowned in Sound noted Baths’ use of “unorthodox” sounds layered in and around the electronics, in particular “clicking pens, vocal samples, rustling blankets and scissor snaps”. British newspaper The Guardian’s Paul Lester commented he was reminded of “J Dilla playing around with the Pavement and Prince catalogues” while listening to the album. While a lot of his music is instrumental, it can occasionally incorporate vocals, most of them falsetto.
Cerulean was listed by the AV Club as the 21st best album of 2010. It made Pitchfork’s Album of the Year: Honorable Mention list.
Earth Death
Baths Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've been done here, only time keeps me from the demi edge
My self can not get out of being pulled in to the earth
Well we do next to next to nothing, we have always been in this cage
Come kill me, I see, so alone
Come kill me, I see, so alone
Come kill me, I see, so alone
My men can not get out of being pulled in to the earth
My self can not get out of being pulled in to the earth
Well we do next to next to nothing, we have always been in this cage
Come kill me, I see, so alone
Come kill me, I see, so alone
Come kill me, I see, so alone
Come kill me, I see, so alone
Baths’s “Earth Death” is a dark and introspective song that paints a picture of a group of individuals who feel trapped and isolated in their own existence. The first part of the song speaks of “men” who are unable to break free from the pull of the earth. This image could be interpreted as a metaphor for being weighed down by the responsibilities and expectations of society, unable to escape the cyclical patterns of life. The repetition of the line “come kill me, I see, so alone” hints at a desire to break free from this never-ending cycle, perhaps by seeking an escape through death.
The second half of the song shifts to a first-person perspective as the lyrics speak of the singer’s own inability to escape the pull of the earth. The line “only time keeps me from the demi edge” suggests that time is the only thing preventing the singer from crossing the threshold into an existential crisis or mental breakdown. The line “well we do next to next to nothing, we have always been in this cage” creates a sense of hopelessness and resignation in the singer’s outlook on life. The repetition of “come kill me, I see, so alone” further underscores the intense loneliness and isolation felt by the singer.
Overall, “Earth Death” is a haunting and introspective song that speaks to the struggles of those who feel trapped by the constraints of society and their own existence. The repetitive and sparse musical elements reinforce the bleak and isolated feel of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
My men can not get out of being pulled in to the earth
My comrades are powerless against the force of gravity that continuously drags them towards the ground
I've been done here, only time keeps me from the demi edge
I am stuck in this place and my only solace is the passing of time that keeps me from the edge of despair
My self can not get out of being pulled in to the earth
I, myself, am unable to break free from the grip of the earth that pulls me down
Well we do next to next to nothing, we have always been in this cage
Our existence is unremarkable and mundane, and we have always been confined to this unchanging routine
Come kill me, I see, so alone
I am so lonely that I would welcome death
Come kill me, I see, so alone
I am so lonely that I would welcome death
Come kill me, I see, so alone
I am so lonely that I would welcome death
My men can not get out of being pulled in to the earth
My comrades are powerless against the force of gravity that continuously drags them towards the ground
I've been done here, only time keeps me from the demi edge
I am stuck in this place and my only solace is the passing of time that keeps me from the edge of despair
My self can not get out of being pulled in to the earth
I, myself, am unable to break free from the grip of the earth that pulls me down
Well we do next to next to nothing, we have always been in this cage
Our existence is unremarkable and mundane, and we have always been confined to this unchanging routine
Come kill me, I see, so alone
I am so lonely that I would welcome death
Come kill me, I see, so alone
I am so lonely that I would welcome death
Come kill me, I see, so alone
I am so lonely that I would welcome death
Contributed by Lincoln S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Elliot B.
My men cannot get out of being pulled into the earth
I've been done here, only time keeps me from the demiurge
My self cannot get out of being pulled into the earth
Well we do next to nothing, we have always been the scourge
Come kill me
I seem so brittle
Come kill me
I see so little
Every animal
Come kill me
I seem so brittle
Come kill me
I see so little
Skywalker
my men cannot get out of being pulled into the earth
i've been done here, only time keeps me from the demiurge
my self cannot get out of being pulled into the earth
well we do next to nothing, we have always been the scourge
come kill me
i seem so brittle
come kill me
i seem so little
every animal
come kill me
i seem so brittle
come kill me
i seem so little
TheBurnSquadron
this song definitely is one of bath's darkest pieces. It almost describes being swallowed whole into a large dark cocoon. Sometimes i feel that way but im able to get out. This is more of a piece of in which someone is gone through a horrid tragedy and they feel their whole world is gone from them.
archangel
That's because this song was originally conceptualised when Baths was diagnosed with E.coli and was close to death.
Trytoxania
If anyone knows anything else that captures this dark, brooding, rhythmic, melancholy, electric wonderland please share, I need more
narcissistic
YES PLS I NEED MOREEEE
Bruno Dos Santos
@narcissistic Lonely Feelings - Love Supreme
Lorn - Acid Rain
Homeless - Snorri Hallgrímsson
Massive Attack - Dissolved Girl
The Black Queen - The end where we start
Massive Attack - The Spoils
Low - Lullaby
There goes some, there are lighter ones and darker ones, let me know if u want more.
ManicMindTrick
Look up Goodbye Horses and SS Say - Care for some 80s hypnotic darkness
ManicMindTrick
ManicMindTrick
för 4 minuter sedan
Look up Boy Harsher Pain Manic Mix for something newer
Mud Wrestling Enthusiast
@Bruno Dos Santos I didn't know any of these artists except maybe hearing one song by Massive Attack an hour ago.
Thanks for the recommendations, that was a powerful list of songs
Chihiro Bunny
No other song feels this way. It's one of my all time favs... so bleak....so sad.... haunting... i love it very much and hold it dear. <3
ENCHANTED
This song is absolutely in another world.