The people who often thrill me most are the same ones that have Pandora algorithms cursing the sky: and Rayland Baxter, who doesn’t fit neatly into any easy boxes but makes beautifully composed, emotive music, is surely one of them. I fell in love with the textures and images on his first record, feathers & fishHooks, within seconds – it conjured up a life in the open plains, surrounded by watercolor trees and mountain air, set to a soundtrack strum. His voice just floats so easily along the lyrics, soothing and smart but never purely atmospheric. His most recent release, August’s Imaginary Man, pushes his viewpoint even further – there’s elements of folk, elements of groovy seventies rock, notes of songwriters like Paul Simon who explored out of the confines of their home territories – but it’s singular in its approach, and gleefully fun and challenging without even straying too far from his perfect pattern. For his UnLocked Session, we took Rayland to our new favorite restaurant, Little Octopus, for stripped-down versions of “Yellow Eyes” and “Oh My Captain.” Watch below. – MRM
