SUNDAY SPINS: CORNERS BY THE BASTARDS OF SOUL 

          Time passes a little differently down in old East Dallas. Maybe it’s the out of way, winding roads that ripple around White Rock Lake, the extreme gentrification you can find by simply turning streets, or the clusters of small businesses that keep large corporations out and local communities strong. As you travel through these rich streets, from glass windows, bathroom mirrors, bar tops, to the small black books waitresses carry, you can find stickers of this high-contrast stencil of a woman with an afro, made from a vinyl record. Who TF are the Bastards of Soul?

          I love my home. I am Dallas til I die. But these past two years in a pandemic has made it financially exhausting to maintain the “American Scheme” of basic necessities while the cost of living in Dallas increases exponentially. My heart is breaking from this cold cold city. Right-winged Republican sanctity seems to quickly cast blame upon anyone who handles their monetary means and socioeconomic status even slightly different than their own. I try to do everything I’m supposed to do but I never seem to stop disappointing you. Life is a lot simpler in absolution. As we experienced in the Spring and Summer of 2020, I can even feel the swift change from the struggles of the pandemic to the Black Lives Matter movement at the cost of George Floyd’s life. An African living the American dream. 

          For “Just a Little Bit”, Daniel Balis, Bassist for Bastards of Soul pulls from the psychedelic genre of music made complete with this bubbling, ominous undertone. Just a little bit, just a little bit more of your love. The repercussions of our actions rarely arrive before dawn. Well it’s late in the night, and it feels so right Till the morning. Frontman, Chadwick Murray’s throaty vocals lend to this internal struggle and yearning to be both here and there. Don’t worry, wives and girlfriends of East Dallas. They always come back when you least expect it. He’ll be there at the door, illuminated by the yellowing light, atoning for his short-sightedness. When he says he’s got no place to go And there's no one he’d rather know. This cautionary tale dizzies out, frying into shoegaze infinity. 

          It seems like every album released in the last year and probably for the next two years is going to be about our life-altering year in isolation. Chadwick Murray was a Type 1 Diabetic and therefore, more at risk to contract COVID-19 than the average person, so the collaboration of the album and title track, “Corners” took an interesting turn. The majority of the record was recorded independently and then patched together. We’re all living in our corners Of the city And were once upon a time Holding hands together. And as we wait for the confirmation that we can go back face to face with our loved one, vacations are canceled, birthdays pass, weddings reschedule, Just give us a little more time. The good news is, as you know, and as the song dictates, we - finally - got to hold our loved ones tight, in streets, in homes, in restaurants, in bars. Love doesn’t expire, it grows deeper.

          “Lizzy Louise” was recorded in the thick of quarantine at Niles City Sound in Fort Worth. This single was released on a 45 with “While It’s Hot” which - surprisingly - didn’t make it onto the “Corners” album. Heartbreak is one of the great equalizers in our society, everyone is walking around with some salt in the wound. This is why songs like “Lizzy Louise” where pleading, brokenness, and desperation are so transcendental to us. “Girl’s No Good” reminds me of late nights with unrequited love. You’re never gonna win her heart. Should give it up Stop trying to turn the tables. The slowness of the music is the inching realization that dreams won’t be able to become reality, as if you don’t already know It’s time to let it go. 

          “Daybreak” is the only song on the record that all members are credited. Most likely due to that necessary style of recording and the Bastards of Soul’s best intentions to keep Chadwick Murray safe. There’s a fear inside my heart I’m reminded every moment. This will be the first time on the album that we feel the pain of foreshadowing, Cuz I don’t know if I’m gonna live or die. “Never Coming Back” could easily be mistaken for a lost archive of Otis Redding. Chadwick Murray’s voice is gritty and hoarse, perfectly balanced with the aching music. It’s really hard to listen to. But I don’t want to quit you girl And I won’t give up I don’t wanna give up. While Chad Stockslager is credited for lyrics, do you think Chadwick Murray may have instinctively known somehow? Please come back, babe Won’t you please, please, please, come back, baby. Come back … 

          “Glass of Ashes” reminds me of some ode to last call. And I can’t stop drinking. And there is no better last call deal than that nestled in East Dallas at “The Landing''. Lakewood Landing, “An Upscale Dive”. You haven’t lived until your best drinking efforts have been rewarded by .50 cent corn dogs at 1:45 A.M. As you swap ketchup for mustard and try to figure out your next stop before home. Cause I know that you’re out there hoping to find some fresh blood victim gonna poison my mind. It’s that liquid courage text complete with the track’s backup singers and brass instruments, to see if we’re both done playing dating games or Soon I’ll be nothing just ashes filling the glass.

          “Come Around” encompasses the myriad of talents of this East Dallas band. Chadwick Murray opens the song with, Goodbye, my darling Goodbye, my precious love. This entire album is about honoring the joy of music from our home while also holding devastating tragedy. Here one day and gone the next was Chadwick Murray, lead singer and North Star of the Bastards of Soul, an East Dallas band.