… 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.
Ironworks
Baths Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In Victorian doorways
In tempestuous foreplay
I am sweet swine
Among whites not bright
And clocks locked
I am sweet swine
In tempestuous foreplay
I am the sweet swine
Among whites not bright
And clocks locked
On the night of cake and kin
Where I took you by your skin indoors
A light spinning, we perform
And outside, left you again to your wife
Through Victorian doorways
How I house my heart in ironworks, it hurts
There must be some finesse, there must be some finesse to self-worth
How I house my heart in ironworks, it hurts
There must be some finesse to self-worth
I am sweet swine
In Victorian doorways
In tempestuous foreplay
I am sweet swine
Among whites not bright
And clocks locked
I am sweet swine
And no man is ever mine
And no man is ever mine
I am sweet swine
And no man is ever mine
And no man is ever mine
The lyrics of Baths's song "Ironworks" conjure up vivid imagery of a person who is torn between their desires and societal norms. The repeated refrain of "I am sweet swine in Victorian doorways, in tempestuous foreplay," suggests a person engaging in taboo behavior outside of accepted social norms. The line "among whites not bright and clocks locked" implies a sense of secrecy and the need to conceal one's activities from the outside world.
The second verse adds another layer to the story, describing a night of passionate physicality with someone who is not their partner, followed by the pain of "housing their heart in ironworks," which suggests an emotional entrapment or feeling of confinement. The chorus repeats the phrase "there must be some finesse to self-worth," indicating a struggle with self-esteem and a desire for a balanced and healthy sense of self.
Overall, "Ironworks" portrays a complex and conflicted inner world, full of desires, secrets, pain, and self-doubt. The lyrics suggest a person who is trying to navigate their way through societal pressures and their own emotional landscape, and searching for ways to find balance and self-worth.
Line by Line Meaning
I am sweet swine
I am someone who is both sweet and animalistic
In Victorian doorways
I exist in the context of Victorian-era architecture and social norms
In tempestuous foreplay
I engage in passionate, unstable types of sexual activity
Among whites not bright
I am among people who are not quite pure or innocent
And clocks locked
I am in a situation where time seems to be standing still or not moving forward
On the night of cake and kin
During a celebration with family and delicious food
Where I took you by your skin indoors
Where I seduce you and bring you inside
A light spinning, we perform
We engage in dizzying, exciting activities together
And outside, left you again to your wife
I leave you to go back to your married life
Through Victorian doorways
Exiting through the same type of doorways we entered
How I house my heart in ironworks, it hurts
I protect my heart with a defensive mechanism that feels painful to me
There must be some finesse, there must be some finesse to self-worth
I need to find a way to value and love myself in a more subtle, nuanced way
And no man is ever mine
I am not possessive of men or defined by my relationships, romantic or otherwise
Contributed by Liliana H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.