BAILEN celebrates their album release date at Free At Noon
New York sibling trio BAILEN released their new, independent record SWIM!!! today, and the crowd at Free At Noon were among the first to hear it live.
If you’re new here, BAILEN are proper WXPN regulars dating back to their 2019 NON-COMMvention set. Station members will also remember their 2023 XPoNential Music Festival performance. At Free At Noon today, the band gave listeners the thoughtful folk/rock and natural harmonies they were expecting, plus more. Namely, a brief feminist history lesson.
“Who here knows who Eve Babitz is?” To the weak crowd response, singer Julia Bailen continued, “Wow that’s brutal guys, she’s such a great writer.” On the record, songs like “Eve Babitz” have a chorus of electronic production, but the band stripped it down today to just their guitar, bass, drums, and vocals.
Another memorable moment was the lead up to protest song “In My Name.” Addressing the New York City protests surrounding Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s appearance at the UN, Julia said, “it’s about time we hold the people in power to a higher standard of humanity.” In the song, she calls out, “money only pays for violence / what a world to get used to / when even the sirens feel quiet / every day another deluge.”
BAILEN’s new and independently-released album SWIM!!! is out today. The band return to Philly to play Johnny Brenda’s on November 17th. Tickets are available via the WXPN Concert Calendar.
