7/10
Favorite Track: "Playing With Fire" Least Favorite Track: "Accessory"
Breakup Shoes is a four man indie band from Tempe Arizona that seems to be here to stay. So Money, Baby is the band's follow up to their debut project; Unrequited Love (& other cliches). Both projects contain elements of the similar sound that is provided to us by acts like Mac DeMarco and boy pablo, but Breakup Shoes take on this niche brand of indie tends to be a bit more interesting. On their previous effort they mixed the familiar indie sound with elements of jazz and pop to create a refreshing batch of tracks. Their 2019 project however, falls a little bit closer to the roots of this known sound while gaining in instrumental prowess. If So Money, Baby proves anything that the bands previous effort didn’t, it's that these guys can play. Despite this album not giving us a whole lot to dissect in its compact 23 minute runtime, the tracks for the most part are catchy, with riveting instrumentals. The album kicks off with “Idk”, a track that lyrically speaks on the confusion of learning to love yourself but instrumentally it takes a very different tone. The hook that the track offers, is infectious as can be and starts the album off strong. Following that we get a change of pace with “Trash”. Although the song’s dismal lyrics match that of “Idk”, this time the instrumental matches the tone. The guitars on this one are atmospheric and spacey, it feels like being stuck in a negative headspace that you can’t get out of. I don’t have a problem with the track per say but it was one of the less engaging listens on the album for me. It certainly runs out of steam in the second half and becomes a bit too predictable. Most of my least favorite moments on the record occupy the same lane as “Trash”. In general I think that Breakup Shoes sound works much better on songs like “Playing With Fire”, where there is a more upbeat and manic instrumental and tone. So Money, Baby is an album that really varies in quality from track to track. It also doesn’t really seem to know what it wants to be yet. It certainly doesn’t have the depth that the bands previous project does but nonetheless its a solid indie album with skillful instrumentals and mostly solid tracks.