Haven’t heard of Baby FuzZ? Well, there’s a chance you may have heard his work without even knowing. The hit songwriter and producer turned artist Baby FuzZ is the brainchild of Sterling Fox. As a songwriter and producer, Fox has worked with tons of big names including Lana Del Rey (“Video Games”), Avicii, and even Madonna. However, upon the election of Donald Trump in 2016, and at the peak of Fox’s songwriting career, he disappeared from music and split for Canada, spending a year in Montreal, re-emerging as Baby FuzZ.
He released his genre-defying debut in 2019 titled Plastic Paradise. Now, Baby FuzZ is stretching the boundaries even further. So far this year, he’s released the pop-punk tongue-in-cheek “We’re All Gonna Die!!!,” the mariachi influenced “Weekend Blues,” and the glam rock-inspired “Before Our Time.” What on earth could behold for “Acid Night,” you ask?
Sonically, as Baby FuzZ clearly loves to do, the track is miles away from his previous releases this year. Almost lullaby-like in delivery, a soft and gentle piano line opens proceedings while a distant-sounding saxophone adds a jazzy touch.
The song was apparently written during an acid trip at a baseball game in LA – talk about creative inspiration! However, the lyrical content contrasts sharply with the relaxing soundscapes surrounding it. The lyrics explore a dark vision of America; about an impending sense of doom and a sense that things have gotten really weird which, in the middle of a pandemic, feels freakishly prevalent.
The opening lines set the somber tone from the offset: “It’s acid night in Elysian Park / Turn on the lights, that’s when shit gets dark.” However, towards the song’s finale, the lyrics become politically pertinent given the events and movements the US has witnessed throughout this year: “It’s acid night in the USA / Elon Musk and the KKK / Eat at McDonald’s, sing Amazing Grace / ‘Cuz it’s acid night in the US of A.”
Baby FuzZ cleverly encapsulates the topical and important lyrical content of “Acid Night” within an acid-soaked bubble of soothing melodies and instruments. The track warrants more attention than you may give it at first, but with a scratch beyond the surface, the songwriting talents of Baby FuzZ are there to be uncovered.