Babelshack has been driving listeners on a grungy, transcendental, post-punk road trip across the Southwest since 2003. Rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist Barnaby Hazen writes lyrics that arouse grainy images of bittersweet beauty — even when they’re inspired by ugly experiences — while lead guitarist Westin McDowell, drummer Dylan McDowell and bassist Dylan Blanchard provide an instrumental backdrop well-suited for some existential wandering. From practicing in a dicey jam spot under a liquor store in Los Angeles to performing in some of Santa Fe and Albuquerque’s most iconic venues, the band’s literal journey has spanned hundreds of miles. Over a couple of decades, Babelshack’s rhythm section has developed a solid signature groove, allowing Westin McDowell to paint the desert with dark and light-hued riffs and solos as he sees fit. Like an “erotic lake,” Babelshack’s eerie melodies and raspy, simultaneously sad and sexy vocals will probably make you smile even if you’re not sure why, and I think that’s the point.
Will you describe your sound for us?
I think of it as visceral, melodic, primal, nuanced. I may be less qualified to describe it beyond that because lately, I’ve had people come up and mention bands I’ve never heard of as “obvious” influences. It doesn’t mean they’re wrong — the rest of the band has listened to more contemporary stuff than I have — these just aren’t ingredients to our recipe I’m aware of.
My favorite quote about our sound came lately from within the band. Westin McDowell (lead guitar) said “[Our music] is for people who are kind of … everywhere … and nowhere.”
What are your favorite venues to play and why?
I’m getting acclimated to a bunch of new venues after working as a sideman in Taos for a number of years and not playing the places one goes with original material. Ghost and Tumbleroot in Santa Fe and Echoes here in Albuquerque are all very good to us and seem to bring in our kind of people. Looking forward to our first go at the Launchpad. Dylan Blanchard, our bassist, was shocked to realize we hadn’t played there yet. This May 21 gig has been a long time coming.
What are your lyrics about?
The usual shit. It’s all in how deep we dig and how we put it together. I tend to write from within my own skin, even when I refer to something like the Greek mythos or some other story from a book or a movie. Our single “All the Good People” is framed as a “love and longing” song from Hades to Persephone. At the time I wrote it I was going through something horrendous, and the Greek myth was more like an outfit for how I tend to write lyrics. It’s mostly just whatever is happening in my heart and/or in my head on a given day.
What bands or genres inspire your music?
There are some “obvious” answers here — I’ll leave those for others to pull out — but recently, I went back and listened to the first Pretenders album for the first time in many years, and I realized that band really left a mark on me. Chrissie can sound like she’s singing to us from another planet or just kind of rapping to us over drinks at a dive bar, and it all holds together seamlessly. I feel like she brought a lot to my idea of what a song is, way back in my teen years, and it still holds true now with our new material.
Watch Bableshack performing “Queen of Club Soda” live at Ghost in Santa Fe:
Check out the Babelshack Theater YouTube channel and see videos such as “Bottomfeeder.”
Jam Babelshack’s recordings, watch music videos and live performances and find out about upcoming shows at babelshack.com/music.
Catch Babelshack at the Launchpad on May 21 with Gregorio and the Unknown, Needcaps and Possum Party. They’ll be promoting their upcoming EP and releasing the single “All the Good People.”