All Day Dreaming is the third full-length album by London, Ontario’s Baby Giant. Comprised of brothers Shawn McDonald (vocals/bass/guitar) and Tim McDonald (King Woobs) (drums/backing vocals), this new album also features contributions on some tracks from Andy Paquette (Gypsy Ghosts) on vocals/guitar and Ryan O’Driscoll (SpaceSlave) on vocals/backing vocals. All Day Dreaming was recorded in Shawn’s living room with drums recorded in the basement. The guitar on this album is more prominent as opposed to 2018’s 2 album, giving it more of a live and spontaneous feel.
The title track starts off All Day Dreaming. Featuring crunchy guitars, an in the pocket drumbeat and a lo-fi Guided By Voices aesthetic. With lyrics such as “face, nice to see your face/that’s what I needed/place, this must be the place that I needed” that captures a feeling, one that seems to be a balance between reality and the surreal. It is also one of two tracks to feature lead vocals from Andy Paquette (Shawn McDonald is the lead vocalist on the almost all the other tracks). “Brightside” is a jangly garage pop song. Taking influence from band such as Belle & Sebastian, Magnetic Fields and Leonard Cohen styled guitar chords, “Brightside” is one of the standout tracks on All Day Dreaming. This song with its catchy guitar leads and vocal harmonies are easy for the listener to get lost in. With character driven lyrics that portray a type of nostalgia about love lost contrasted against the fact that this person is always looking on the bright side of things. “Yeah!” is a short, ramshackle garage song with fuzz guitar, acoustic guitar and a soulful bassline that seems to echo with the influence of 60s era Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds, “Admired” is a catchy, jangly track and one of two tracks featuring lead vocals from Ryan O’Driscoll. This track features watery sounding guitars that dip into elements of psychedelia, organ sounds, tambourine, fuzzy bass and a laidback drumbeat that holds everything in place. Lyrics such as “Why don’t you hang around like you used to,” and “Yeah it’s hard/Now you know what it feels like to be admired,” add a touch of melancholy and reflection as the song seems to look back at the past times while trying to be engaged in the present.
“She’s A Queen” starts off with keyboards and fuzzy guitars mixed with surf guitar licks and stop and start drums. This song brings guitar volume with a sparseness and character driven lyrics that paint the picture of someone who is in love with the extravagant parts of life. “Driving Force” provides an instrumental break that seems fraught with tension as the drums, guitar and bass propel forward. “White Stallion” is the seventh track on All Day Dreaming. With a bassline that seems to combine elements of 60s era Kinks and The Fall, while the guitar is layered with ringing tremolo heavy guitar leads, acoustic guitar and banjo that fill in the sonic space. The drums drive the song as it adjusts speeds. Lyrically, McDonald sings a Mark E. Smith styled vocal that regales the listener with words such as “I don’t know what I’ve been told/You make the rules if you’ve got the gold,” “I tried so hard for fortune and fame/Now the white stallion is calling my name,” that seem to conjure up symbolism of purity and triumph. “I’m Sick” is a fast garage track with punk elements, while “She Don’t Need A Hero” is a primarily acoustic song written by and also featuring lead vocals from Ryan O’Driscoll. About one minute in, the rest of the band joins in with organ, guitar leads and drums/percussion, while lyrically this song tells the story of someone that doesn’t need saving, as the narrator seems lost due to their lack of confidence in themself.
“Westbound and Down” is a darker track lyrically. The lyrics are surrounded in mystery about a character that is on the run as he makes a slim escape from his place then is filled with existential thoughts as he makes his way west. This character story song is one of the strongest moments on an album filled with many strong moments. The travelling drumbeat locks down the beat as guitar arpeggios and leads pepper their way throughout the song and the bass climbs and falls with the melody. The guitar rises to a searing intensity as the song hits about two minutes and forty five seconds matching the state of mind that the character in the song seems to be in. “LOVE” ends All Day Dreaming. This song features elements of The Vaselines, the guitars are layered with clean guitars and intense distorted guitar moments as the drums and bass are solid, yet fluid throughout the song. Lyrics such as “Looking for love/Alright,” and “Nighttime has its light/People pass time picking fights/Come on over baby/I’m alright” are wistful, yet hopeful.
Throughout All Day Dreaming, there are a number of musical influences that could be named such as Guided By Voices, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Fall, T.Rex, The Byrds, The Rolling Stones, The Vaselines, but the influence of these bands combine into something else. Looking at the cover artwork for All Day Dreaming we see what looks like a grainy photo of a pine tree with the words Baby Giant in bright yellow and pink colours in the top corner. There is a light hiding behind the tree that is breaking through the branches partially lighting up parts of the photo. It gives off Twin Peaks vibes, but really the songs are not what they seem at first glance. The characters throughout the songs that make up this album are in some type of daydream-like state at times trying to find their way. The lo-fi and musical aesthetic combined with the lyricism make All Daydreaming something different, something all its own.
Listen to the interview that Revolution Rock did with Shawn McDonald of Baby Giant:
Show 949 Playlist (Originally Aired On August 27th, 2022)(Baby Giant Interview):
1. R.E.M. - Sitting Still (Polka Version) (Partial)
2. R.E.M. - Siting Still
3. R.E.M. - White Tornado
4. R.E.M. - White Tornado (Take 2) (Abandoned)
5. R.E.M. – Gardening at Night [live Toronto, 1983]
6. R.E.M. - Wolves, Lower
7. R.E.M. - 1,000,000
8. Tallies – Catapult
9. Crystal Eyes - Pretty Dumb
10. Baby Giant - All Daydreaming
SHAWN MCDONALD (OF BABY GIANT) INTERVIEW PT. I
11. Baby Giant - Brightside
12. Baby Giant - White Stallion
SHAWN MCDONALD (OF BABY GIANT) INTERVIEW PT. II
13. Baby Giant - I’m Sick
14. The Fine Print - Hanging Over Me
15. Dragsville - Not Gonna Do It
16. Queens of the Stone Age - First It Giveth
17. Queens of the Stone Age - Hangin’ Tree
18. The Chats - Boggo Breakout
19. B.A. Johnson - My Neighbour Dug a Fire Pit
20. Dog Day - Inner Space
21. The Gonks - Nuns Having Fun
22. La Luz - San Fernando Shadow Blues
23. The Merseyippi Collectif - Alive and All WIllin'
24. Compulsive Gamblers - Way Down In The Hole
25. Detroit Cobras - Hot Dog (Watch Me Eat)
DOWNLOAD THIS EPISODE HERE.
Show 948 (Originally Aired On August 20th, 2022) (Gord Lewis Teenage Head tribute, Spoon, Sleater-Kinney, Interpol, Neko Case):
1. Teenage Head - Lucy Potato
2. Teenage Head - Send A Letter (Demo)
3. Teenage Head - Disgusteen (Unreleased 1977 Take)
4. Spoon - Jonathon Fisk
5. Sleater-Kinney - Oh!
6. Interpol - Obstacle 2
7. Neko Case - Deep Red Bells
8. The Shivas - Can’t Relax
9. Petrol Girls - Preachers
10. Teenanger - Weird Money
11. Pretty Matty - See You Around
12. UWUW - Scattered Ashes
17. Tim Swaddling - Real Gone
18. Ghost Woman - Do You
19. Bonnie Prince Billy - Outsider
20. Wilco - Please Be Wrong
21. John Doe - El Romance-O
22. Frog Eyes - Rainbow Stew
23. The Sadies - Ginger Moon
24. Rick White - Another Season Again
25. Crack Cloud - Please Yourself
26. Teenage Head - Somethin’ on My Mind
27. Teenage Head - Drivin’ Wild
28. Teenage Head - Frantic Romantic
29. Teenage Head With Marky Ramone - You’re Tearing Me Apart
Show 947 (Originally Aired On August 13th, 2022) (Teenage Head, Big Star, Ducks Ltd, Beck):
1. Teenage Head - Picture My Face
2. Teenage Head - Top Down
3. Matt Ellis - Brutal Planet
4. TV Freaks - Coworker Blues
5. Psychic Void - Drug Surface
6. Personal and the Pizzas - Never Find Me
7. Big Star - Feel
8. Big Star - The Ballad of El Goodo
9. Juliana Hatfield - Don’t Lie to Me
10. Albert Hammond Jr. - Thirteen
11. Paul Jacobs - I Find It Hard To Believe
12. Leonard Cohen - The Hills
13. The Sadies - So Far, So Few
14. Rusty - Surrender To The Rhythm
15. Kiwi Jr. - Unspeakable Things
16. Ducks Ltd. & Illuminati Hotties - Head On
17. Ducks Ltd. & Jane Inc. - In Between Days
18. US Girls - So Typically Now
19. Beck - In a Cold Ass Fashion
20. Beck - Corvette Bummer
21. Beck - Asskizz Powergrudge (Payback ’94)
22. Beck - Modern Guilt
23. Beck - Blue Randy
24. Beck - Feelings
25. Beck - Schmoozer
26. Beck - Steve Threw Up
27. Beck - Garbage Truck
28. Beck - Leave Me On The Moon
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