Ungodly
EP by
Baum
ReleasedMarch 16, 2018 (2018-03-16)
GenreIndie pop
Length16:46
LabelIndependent
ProducerThe Orphanage (Trevor Brown, Zaire Koalo)
Baum chronology
Ungodly
(2018)		 Blondshell
(2023)
Singles from Ungodly
  1. "Hot Water"
    Released: August 17, 2017
  2. "Effortless"
    Released: November 17, 2017
  3. "This Body"
    Released: February 9, 2018

Ungodly is the debut EP by American alternative pop artist Baum, her sole full-length recording before reinventing herself as Blondshell. It was released on March 16, 2018.

Background

Originally from New York City, Sabrina Teitelbaum had written and performed music from a young age,[1][2] and had posted songs to SoundCloud since 2014, while still in high school.[3][4] She moved to Los Angeles to attend USC Thornton School of Music, but dropped out after two years to focus on a music career.[5][6][7][8] Teitelbaum then began as BAUM in 2017, debuting with the single "First".[9] The EP, initially announced under the name First,[10] was produced by Oak Felder proteges The Orphanage (Trevor Brown and Zaire Koalo), who had previously worked on Demi Lovato's "Sorry Not Sorry".[1]

Musical style, composition, and themes

The music of BAUM was identified as alternative pop,[11][12][13][14][15] indie pop,[9] dark pop,[16][1][17][14] electropop,[18][2][7] synth-pop,[9][8] chill pop,[6] and soul-pop,[5][19] a sound Teitelbaum labelled "natural grunge".[20] The Ungodly EP has a dance-pop sound[21] that evokes Haim,[22][20][21][23] Muna,[20][17][21] Carly Rae Jepsen,[22][17] Lady Gaga, Lorde,[24] and Tei Shi.[21] Lead single "Hot Water" was described as "poppy and soulful",[20] "an '80s revival akin to early Haim and more recent Carly Rae Jepsen",[22] and "flitting between Robyn-esque, fist-pumping pop to a more floaty bop reminiscent of The 1975."[10] "Effortless" was said by Galore to have "all the Haim vibes you can handle" with vocal similarities to Lana Del Rey and Adele.[23] Elsewhere, "This Body" utilizes finger snaps and elements of electropop and tropical house,[1][18] "Dream Girl is an R&B song,[25] while the title track was described by Clash as "divine of chorus and cutting of lyric".[26]

Lyrically, the EP tackles themes of first love, heartbreak, coming of age, sexuality, mental health, body positivity, female empowerment, and self-love.[24][12][14][9] Opener and lead single "Hot Water" was written about Teitelbaum's first encounters with women after coming out as bisexual and her lack of experience at the time.[2][22][14] "Effortless", inspired by a friend's heartbreak, imagines taking revenge on a cheating ex-partner; the song was initially conceived as a sad piano ballad but became more focused on anger and empowerment during the writing.[11][17][24] "This Body" is a self-love and body image anthem, written in response to a catcalling incident Teitelbaum experienced at USC,[1][2][14][17][24][27] while "Dream Girl" is about adopting a false persona to for the benefit of a partner.[1][24] "Ungodly", the title track, was a last-minute addition to the EP;[26][24] Teitelbaum cited it as her favorite song on the project and a perfect summary of its themes, describing it as "about being a young person and doing crazy, reckless things to feel alive and to feel loved".[26][1][24]

Teitelbaum told Billboard that “The whole thing is about empowering yourself in coming-of-age situations where you wouldn’t think you have all the power, where it gets taken away from you...I want people in high school or early college to hear it and think, ‘I went through that,’ and that there can be a happy ending to these things.”[24] She would later say the project was "a lot of songs I wrote when I was 18 and 19" that were "about what I was going through in high school and being self-destructive."[14]

Release

Ungodly's rollout began with the single release of "Hot Water" on August 17, 2017. The single was marked with a concert at Manhattan's Rockwood Music Hall the following day,[28] and a music video - directed by Parker Foster and Chris Alessandra in San Francisco's historic Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, and depicting a lesbian couple falling in love[29][10][1] - was released on September 29 via the magazine Ladygunn.[30] The second single, "Effortless", was premiered on November 17 by Wonderland.[11] A third single, "This Body", was released on February 9, 2018, premiered by Billboard[1] and Nylon,[27] and was used by Target for their "No Body Like Mine" campaign.[12][13]

Teitelbaum self-released the EP on March 16, 2018. That same month, Teitelbaum performed at South by Southwest, her first festival appearance,[24][2] and was featured on the festival's official 2018 playlist.[21] She was scheduled to perform in April at Boston's Middle East nightclub with singer Dagny, but cancelled due to a case of bronchitis.[25] She was also highlighted on Spotify's curated playlists "Out Now" and "Young & Free".[13]

Aftermath

Following inactivity due to personal turmoil, Teitelbaum resurfaced in May 2019, releasing the singles "Fuckboy" and "Bad Kid", and had begun work with producer Yves Rothman on a second Baum EP, to be titled Curve.[9][13][14][31] However, Teitelbaum had grown unsatisfied with her pop direction as Baum and, with Rothman's encouragement, abandoned the EP in favor making alternative rock music under the name Blondshell.[5][6][7] Gaining more notoriety in this iteration, she reteamed with Rothman for her self-titled debut album, which was released in 2023 on Partisan Records and received critical acclaim.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sabrina Teitelbaum

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hot Water"Teitelbaum, Rett Madison2:59
2."This Body" 3:43
3."Effortless" 3:04
4."Dream Girl" 3:46
5."Ungodly" 3:12
Total length:16:46

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cirisano, Tatiana (February 8, 2018). "Dark Pop Upstart BAUM Unleashes Catcaller Takedown 'This Body': 'It's a Way of Getting My Power Back'". Billboard. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Williams, Pip (April 30, 2018). "BAUM on the themes of debut EP Ungodly: eating disorder recovery, empowerment, and bisexuality". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  3. ↑ "BAUM". SoundCloud. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  4. ↑ Frezza, Robert (August 16, 2019). "Baum celebrates her individuality with grief, love, and passion". Ladygunn. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Samways, Gemma (December 9, 2022). "Furious about life? Then Blondshell's music is for you". Dazed. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Martoccio, Angie (January 24, 2023). "Get Ready for Blondshell to Be All the Rage This Year". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 Wood, Mikael (February 24, 2023). "Toxic sex, social anxiety, '90s guitars: How L.A.'s Blondshell pulled off the rock debut of 2023". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  8. 1 2 White, Caitlin (March 3, 2023). "Blondshell Is the Next Big LA Rock Album". InsideHook. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Williams, Pip (May 14, 2019). "On The Rise: BAUM". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 Neu (October 4, 2017). "BAUM gets in 'Hot Water' on thunderous new single". DIY. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 Staff (November 17, 2017). "Premiere: BAUM - "Effortless"". Wonderland. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 Arunarsirakul, Alissa (May 8, 2019). "BAUM Breaks Down Gender Stereotypes With "Fuckboy" Anthem [Q&A]". Ones to Watch. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Oliveira, Nicole (August 13, 2019). "Get Up Close and Vulnerable With BAUM's New Single 'Bad Kid'". Paper. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kaplan, Arielle (August 14, 2019). "BAUM Is the Queer Jewish Princess of Dark Pop". Hey Alma. 70 Faces Media. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  15. ↑ Staff (February 22, 2023). "15 Artists to Watch in 2023". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  16. ↑ Pilley, Max (January 24, 2023). "Blondshell: the alt-rock hero that the future deserves". NME. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Kaplan, Ilana (February 13, 2018). "BAUM is the pop singer bringing body positivity to the forefront of her music". The Independent. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  18. 1 2 Villa, Mattia (February 13, 2018). "BAUM – This Body". Going Solo. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  19. ↑ Anderson, Jack (August 14, 2019). "BAUM: "Bad Kid"". KUTX. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Villa, Mattia (August 22, 2017). "BAUM – Hot Water". Going Solo.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 Staff (March 27, 2018). "New Adds: BAUM, Riko Dan & more!". KXSC Radio. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  22. 1 2 3 4 Darville, Jordan (August 18, 2017). "BAUM's "Hot Water" Is A Coming-Of-Age Pop Anthem". The Fader. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  23. 1 2 Piccirillo, Angie (November 20, 2017). "'Effortless' is the anthem for when you've been cheated on". Galore. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cirisano, Tatiana (March 16, 2018). "Meet BAUM, The Fiery Pop Heroine Telling Coming-Of-Age Stories For 2018". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  25. 1 2 Wasylak, Victoria (April 27, 2018). "BAUM reaches for dark-pop perfection on 'Ungodly'". Vanyaland. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  26. 1 2 3 Murray, Robin (March 16, 2018). "BAUM Declares Independence On 'Ungodly'". Clash. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  27. 1 2 Manders, Hayden (February 9, 2018). "BAUM Makes Self-Love Anthems For The Instagram Age". Nylon. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  28. ↑ Darville, Jordan (August 18, 2017). "BAUM's "Hot Water" Is A Coming-Of-Age Pop Anthem". The Fader. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  29. ↑ Staff (September 29, 2017). "WATCH RISING ALT-POP ARTIST BAUM'S MUSIC VIDEO FOR 'HOT WATER'". Arc Street Journal. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  30. ↑ Staff (September 29, 2017). "Video Premiere: BAUM - "Hot Water"". Ladygunn. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  31. ↑ Cirisano, Tatiana (May 8, 2019). "Pop Rule-Breaker BAUM Returns From 'Craziest Year' of Her Life With New Track 'F—boy' & Upcoming EP". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
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