JimBaumerME – Diary of a One-Man-Band (EP Review)

Today’s review features the new EP, Diary of a One-Man-Band, by JimBaumer ME. Virginia-based indie rocker Jim Baumer, the force behind the brand JimBaumerME, has released several albums/EPs since 2019.

Baumer is influenced by bands like Guided by Voices, Swearing at Motorists, and early Dinosaur Jr. “with 21st Century updates.” Baumer performs on the album as a one-man band, laying down drum beats and playing psychedelic and heavily distorted guitar riffs at the same time. Baumer says “my music is infused with a “red-pill attitude”—less about conspiracy rabbit holes and more about a guy questioning the mainstream narrative in my own scruffy way.”

So let’s have a listen …

“The opener, ‘Indie Washing Day’, pays homage to mid-90s angular guitar bands like Pavement, Polvo, and The Fall, with my vocals heavily awash in auto-tune.”

Sounds like a Tom Petty riff, and that’s cool. A little lead guitar break. Guitars with pitch shifting. The vocals come in, a little muddy. I like the main riff of the song, not sold on the rest of the track. Trippy in parts.

“The second track, ‘Barking Seals’ takes on the legacy media apparatus with a shuffling, folk-rock feel. In my characteristic manner, my populist-fueled number offers up the names of media ‘villains’ that I consider biased in their approach to what they consider is ‘the truth’.”

Starts with an electric guitar and drums. The vocals come in, less muddy. I’m not digging the sound of the voice; it seems strained. The lyrics could be rewritten with lines like “Blame it on Trump, he might give you a bump.” A song about legacy media. “Telling toxic tales.” I like the sound effects tho.

“The third song, ‘Shoegaze Nixonian’ was originally released in February as part of Baumer’s Road Songs EP he recorded for RPM 2025. It’s a drawn-out number featuring elements of shoegaze, big drums, and lyrics tying Nixon’s takedown with Watergate to the possibility that Trump might meet a similar fate.”

I like that the song starts with a media speech. “Trump might be next” gets repeated. The mix on the track is a little muddy; things could be clearer, but maybe that’s just the way the amps were set. Seems more like a song idea than a fully developed song. The lead guitar is not particularly good, but the tone is trippy, so points for that. The song needs more development/editing. I do like the Nixon “I’m not a crook” on repeat in the last half of the song. Tonally, I can dig the ’60s psychedelic rock vibe. But the song needs more work and a better lead guitar player to pull it off properly.

“The centerpiece of the EP is ‘The Great Podcast Disaster,’ a scathing commentary on the current cultural fascination Americans have with podcasters like Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson, and lesser-known figures. The song is characterized by a raw, DIY aesthetic, with chugging guitars and Baumer’s populist-tinged vocals making this song anthemic, lyrically.

Starts with a Neil Young-type guitar riff, very similar tone. The vocals start with“I hate your podcast,” and the song goes on from there. The vocals could be better; they seem very strained. I like the trippy Neil Young guitar riffs. The mix makes it really hard to hear or understand the vocals. An “apocalyptic” “podcast disaster”, not sure what that is … The lead guitar could be played better; sounds like a mess, instead of a glorious mess!

“In ‘Blacktop and Blue Sky,’ I lament the fickle nature of people and celebrate the qualities of the open road and the endless blue sky one finds driving long stretches between shows. This one is the longest track on the EP, clocking in 8:46. It should be relegated to late-night shows that allow naughty words, as I drop the f-bomb on this one.”

The guitar is very fuzzed out in this song, much like the last song. Playing just a couple of notes with attitude. Still waiting for the vocals to kick in. I like the guitar chord riff in this song, but the guitars seem muddy, instead of bright/clear. OK, so now we get the vocals, same strained voice, hard to understand. The vocals are off-pitch. I heard “fucking clowns”, so maybe an explicit warning is appropriate. The song wanders off on a poorly played lead guitar riff. The song seems a little long for the ideas being developed. It clocks in at almost 9 minutes. The vocals are not very good on this song.

“As a closer, I take the single and weave found sounds, snippets of podcasts, and feedback squall, to produce a sound collage similar to what artists like Negativland were aiming for in the 1980s with “GPCD Part II,” which eventually segues back into some facsimile of the singles’ original song structure.”

This is a longer version of The Great Podcast Disaster I discussed earlier. I like the sound effects at the beginning of the song. I actually like this longer version better than the original; it’s trippier. I like the auto-tuned vocals. I like the very solid drum beat. And I like the vocal clips included in the song. Of all the songs on the album, I would probably lead with this one. And rewrite and rerecord the other songs.

SCORE/Mediocre: The vocals and lead guitar need to be redone. While one song is passable, the whole project probably needs to be rewritten and rerecorded to have the artist’s desired effect. The EP is just mediocre with lots of room for improvement. Much love, Beth

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