New Music: Stephen Becker – Bad Idea

The brooding bliss of Stephen Becker’s Bad Idea indicates that investing time in his Gravity Blanket album may, in fact, be a good idea.

The New York singer-songwriter wraps the listener in some comforting moments and thoughts: lemonade and ballet, thrift stores and secret nicknames; it’s like listening to the days when summer becomes autumn. Add in the friendly open tones of the vocals, the track sounds warm and welcoming.

In that indecision, Becker meets an opposite – someone or something unchanging and uncertain but maybe also unyielding – and the reference to tapping an arm for a vein makes you wonder if the track has something untoward or indefinable about it, just out of your reach or comprehension. And that uneasy sensation will stay with you.

Stephen Becker releases Gravity Blanket, his fourth solo album, on the 24th of April. You can pre-order the album in digital format on Bandcamp; for pre-save options, check out Becker’s Instagram feed.