Babybird - There's Something Going On

_There's Something Going On_ is the second studio album by Babybird, released in 1998. The album is almost unrelentingly dark and mysterious, in much the same manner as his earlier lo-fi productions. Indeed, two of the tracks here, 'You Will Always Love Me' and '_There's Something Going On_,' were recorded straight to four-track. Jones' voice echoes out of lyrical valleys. 'Take Me Back' is a horrific tale of an obsessive relationship, with lyrics about eyeballs scratched with rusty nails and a creepy chant of 'dead, dead, dead' ad infinitum. It's a conceit that starts with the very first track, 'Bad Old Man,' where Jones sings of wife-beaters and a drowning in a duck pond. Musically, the album is more of a lean toward the baroque than Ugly Beautiful. One might describe it as stark, disturbed chamber pop. Beautiful melodies appear quite majestically out of Jones' psychological studies. '_There's Something Going On_' is the tender conclusion, suggesting that Jones knows there's a better way of life than obsession and self-torture. _There's Something Going On_ is definitely Baby Bird's most subtle album, and it's a fascinating listen from start to finish