You Never Did Fail To Deceive

Brittany Howard “Baby”

The arrangement of “Baby” is lovely but halting and tentative, just like the person Brittany Howard is singing about. They’re hot enough to draw you in but unwilling to give much or even show up, and expect that hotness to make you forgive every other shortcoming. Howard sings her lyrics with a resigned exasperation, like she’s rolling her eyes every time she sings the word “baby.” The feeling of the song is like that expression “I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed” set to an R&B slow jam. It’s serious enough to convey some heartbreak, but it’s mostly playful in tone, particularly in the final third when the tempo starts to slow like a pendulum gently swaying its way back to stillness. It ends without drama. It’s just time running out.

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