Kurt Baker Reveals ‘Over You’ Single & Details Of ‘After Party’ LP

American musician, songwriter, music producer and multi-instrumentalist Kurt Baker has announced details of his upcoming solo album “After Party” that is set for release on October 23rd via Wicked Cool Records, Baker has also released ‘Over You‘, the album’s lead single which is now streaming on all digital platforms. “After Party” marks the return to power pop under Kurt’s own name and sees him backed by his five-piece American band for the first time in five years, the twelve-song sonic boom of hooks and melodies follows hot on the heels of two acclaimed albums with the Kurt Baker Combo,

“After Party” can be pre-ordered here and ‘Over You‘ can be streamed here

You can read the “After Party” track by track below

The Songs Of “After Party” In Kurt’s Own Words

New Direction

This song’s feeling is “We’ve been gone for a while, but now we are back with a fresh new start!” A great re-introduction to the sound and the group. I love the little spoken word bit in the middle – this would be a typical conversation at Amigos, a bar in Portland, Maine. Musically we were inspired by the work of Dan Vapid and his bands The Mopes and The Riverdales, and then the chorus has almost a Soul/R&B vibe. We really thought it was cool to go from a major chord intro and then switch to a minor suddenly when the verse starts.

I Like Her A Lot

A lot of the topics on this record came out of conversations I would have with my co-writer and producer Wyatt. I’m sure I said, “I like her a lot” in passing and then was like, “Wait…it’s so simple, but why not make that the title!” I love the line “Monday night she goes down to Amigos, never afraid to get up and dance,” mostly because of the Amigos name-drop. I’ve talked about this bar in Portland, Maine a lot, but the place really is an important spot in the making of After Party. They say it’s a Mexican restaurant but to be perfectly honest, I’ve never eaten the food there. One of my favorite choruses on the record, Wyatt suggested a few variations of the melody line that really made it pop in the end. This definitely captures our sound during a live show.

Wandering Eyes

This song came out of a session of songs I was trying to write a year or so ago, and the idea was for it to be an A-side of a 45 single. So, in my mind, I wanted to write a big pop hit. It wasn’t used as a single back in 2019, but it did finally end up on this record and I’m really glad this one didn’t get lost in the shuffle. I love Wyatt’s and Kris’ backup vocals on this song. They really soar. We recorded a lot of different vocal parts for this, and in the end we used them all because everything just worked out really well. By the end of the song, it’s pretty huge!

Waiting For You

One of my favorite songs on the record, The Beatles being the main influence on this. Craig had an idea to do a “Ticket To Ride” Ringo part on the drums, which worked like magic. I remember Wyatt, being the great producer he is, telling me to get into the mindset of John Lennon, perhaps during the part of the movie Help! when they’re tracking “You’re Going To Lose That Girl,” so that was what I was imagining during the recording of the vocals for this track. Kris does a great “In My Life”-styled George Martin piano solo. I think The Smithereens did something like this once too. Really cool.

Good

One of the more eclectic songs on the record. I don’t think originally this was going to have almost a reggae vibe, but finally it does, which I really like. The idea came about after helping some friends move in Madrid. My buddy and I had carried a lot of boxes up to their flat and were amazed about how great the apartment and the view from their balcony was. The only thing they had in the flat at the time was a guitar, so I picked it up and started writing this on the balcony. It’s got a bit of a dark edge to it. The guitar solo is definitely influenced by the band Kix, as I think they did something like this on one of their slower tunes.

Over You

Wyatt and I were working on this song in Portland during a huge snowstorm and I discovered this gigantic rodent in our basement. It was a snow beast! I had no idea what it was…turned out it was a pregnant squirrel! The squirrel was ok. We drank a lot of Twisted Tea while shoveling out the driveway, and a handful of years later this song was finally finished. It’s got a very ’80s vibe. Big chorus. Great alternating guitar and keys parts from Kris and Geoff during the solo.

Used To Think

This song showcases how influential The Beach Boys and The Beatles both are when Wyatt and I write a song. The intro has those Beach Boys backups and the bridge has a big Beatles vibe. A really fun song, with Geoff on the harmonica! Just a song about life.

Keep Dreaming

I’m a big fan of a genre of music called Bedroom Pop that has been popular lately, and I love the production that many of these Bedroom Pop songs have. Lots of chorus on the guitars, and just really nice melodies. So, this song definitely was influenced by groups like Boy Pablo and Mac DeMarco. Wyatt and his wife Mandy sing on the bridge and it makes the story really come to life.

She Don’t Really Love You, Dude

During the final songwriting session for the album, Wyatt and I had hit a little dry patch. So Wyatt decided to work on some lyrics and I went up to my room with a guitar and tried to just bang out some ideas, and this one came out of that. I think this song is about friendship. It might be hard to tell your friend the truth, but sometimes it’s for the best. That’s what a real friend would do. Our buddy Pat Heelan is on backup vocals for this.

A Song And A Drink

I was playing around with a chord progression influenced by “Are You Alone” by the great Chicago Power Pop band Off Broadway. When Wyatt and I got together to finish the song it took on a Bossa Nova vibe. We both love Bossa Nova, so it was so cool to record something with that kind of vibe. Gina Brown’s vocals on this are incredible and it was so fun to record this with her.

Should’ve Been The One

We had this song from the Brand New Beat sessions, but we’d stopped working on it because somebody said that it reminded them too much of Genesis. Now the years have passed and there isn’t anything wrong with that in my book, so it made the final cut. It’s got a lot of ’80s influence, especially Donnie Iris. We love Donnie Iris! Great backups on this one from Craig and Kris singing together on the verse.

Outta Sight

The main influence on this track is the band Single Bullet Theory. They had one record in the early ’80s and are mostly unheard of, but Wyatt and I love them. Wyatt actually found two vintage Single Bullet Theory T-shirts on eBay and picked them up for us. When they came in the mail we sat down and wrote this song off of an idea I had for the chorus. We wanted to build up each chorus so that by the very end it was really big. I think it’s the perfect closer to the record.