I’m sorry for falling in love with you.
– “Sorry”
Kabaal klankbaan’s second full-length album, Baptism, is a matter of the heart.
“It’s personal, heartfelt, and emotional,” says singer-songwriter Floris Groenewald, “but also doesn’t forget to smile, laugh, and most importantly – rock.” Baptism, self-produced by Groenewald and mostly recorded in Kabaal klankbaan’s bedroom studio, is darker and more intimate than previous releases. It’s about relationships and break-ups, without being specifically about a break-up, but rather the “baptism of fire we all have to endure sooner or later.”
Ever since you went away I could not play the same way
I may be the only one playing this game, but having no fun
– “Player Two”
Except for the lucky & very young, loneliness and loss are universal experiences. “It is something that’s gonna hit everyone at some point, and knowing someone else has had similar experiences can be an amazing comfort.”
Sitting home alone
This Friday is valentine’s day
No one to phone
They wouldn’t answer anyway
– “Freedom Day”
But it’s not all heartache – Baptism is about the whole experience. There’s even a love song or two in there. The album starts off with Phone Calls, about the awkward longing in long-distance relationships:
Your late-night text message makes me realize I’m not so alone
But all you are at that moment is a bunch of letters on my phone
I miss your bad pronunciation;
I miss your phone calls.
And just like any period of post-breakup depression, Baptism ends with meeting someone new and hoping to run off into the sunset:
We don’t want to stay in this utopian place
So let’s get out of here;
Yeah, baby, let’s give chase.
– “Let’s make haste”
Thinking about your face next to mine
Thinking about your lips against my cheek
Thinking about your hands…
Thinking about you makes me weak.
– “Thinking”
In typical Kabaal klankbaan style, Baptism was recorded with a little help from friends: drums by Peach van Pletzen, cello by Raldo Mattheus, violin by Siobhan Lloyd-Jones, and guest vocal appearances by Shotgun Tori and Hey, River!
Tracks:
1. Phone calls
2. A change in the weather
3. Not tonight, Josephine (unplugged)
4. Radio Silence
5. Freedom Day
6. This town is for lovers
7. Sorry
8. Player two (unplugged)
9. Not alone
10. Valentine’s day
11. Thinking
12. Let’s make haste
Baptism is available on most internet streaming services.
