Bathe: talking about paranoia, in a beachy R&B kind of way by Roderick Thomas

There’s a new wave of black artists tearing down, and redefining age-old commandments and narratives about their identities with uncompromising honesty, voice, and talent. One emerging band aims to be part of this movement.

Bathe is a Brooklyn based duo comprised of Corey Smith – West and Devin Hobdy, guitarist/producer and singer-songwriter respectively. They met in 2014 while in college, quickly became friends and over time the group emerged. Bathe immerses you in flashes of tranquil guitar melodies, steady percussion, and sultry vocals, all while giving perspective to ideas around masculinity, blackness, millennial culture and their various intersections.

On their debut EP, I’ll Miss You, released on May 3rd, 2019 Bathe presents us with what they’ve described as “beach R&B.” While beachy R&B isn’t an entirely new concept, Bathe’s perspective gives their music undeniable distinction in today’s R&B scene. I don’t want to put pressure on these lads, but they give me hope that R&B’s mainstream future will be more than the prominence of blue-eyed soul, watered-down versions of blue-eyed soul, rarely acknowledged black R&B singers, and “in da club, sippin’ bub” records —- I said what I said.

On their most popular song to date “Sure Shot,” Devin’s vocals float between soft falsettos and chest voice, while the guitar melodically stutters into the background. His voice has a relaxing quality to it, like listening to an ocean breeze — airy and velvety. “Sure Shot” is a story about black masculinity and the uneasy rubric young boys are given to follow from early childhood.

“On Sure Shot, we’re talking about paranoia while simply walking home and trying to bury it in machismo, dealing with past traumas and growing up black.” – Devin

The spotlight on black activism has gotten brighter in recent years, and with that has come new ways to address community issues, but also more opportunities to profit from black narratives and position oneself as an activist. Much like the “influencer” or “public figure” label on social media, the title of “activist” these days is a bit watered down.

However, there doesn’t appear to be anything contrived or “forced woke” about Bathe’s work. They seem to understand the importance of telling authentic stories and what that means to communities.

“We’re trying to make great art that reflects our experiences. The most important thing to me is making something that will be around for a very long time, I hope.” – Corey

Good songwriters are hard to come by and often, artists struggle with presenting nuanced topics like racism or masculinity as digestible. Bathe’s songwriting/composing is in a phrase, well-executed. It’s hard to fit nuanced perspectives into a 3-minute song, but the great artists know how to make you feel like you’ve escaped for a moment, even if in reality you’re being musically submerged in complex social issues — now playing, “This is a Man’s World” by James Brown.

The R&B duo also discusses romance and ghosting on songs like “Kimmi.” Interestingly, ghosting seems to be taking up real estate on albums and EPs from more and more artists. (Ghosting: typically, in dating, is the act of abruptly stopping all communication with an individual without warning or conversation.) Despite dating being more convenient and accessible to people nowadays, it seems access hasn’t given folks more long-lasting relationships. Simply put, you can just swipe right on the next person.

“Even brief relationships can have long-lasting effects on you” – Corey

While it’s reassuring to see these talented artists effectively tell their stories, without smudging over their life’s details, we still need more voices, more artists like Bathe who are unafraid to be honest, and tell stories many people experience, but rarely hear or see discussed in popular music.

Be sure to check out “Sure Shot” by Bathe and their latest EP I’ll Miss You, on Spotify.