HEAR THIS: THE REDS, PINKS, AND PURPLES + MISTER BABY

May 10. 2021 | By Wayne Jessup
Full band version of The Reds, Pinks, and Purples live at the E.M. Wolfman General Interest Small Bookstore, Oakland (2019-courtesy of BC Faulkner)

It’s double Discovery on this edition of Hear This, as we focus on a pair of Bay Area home-recorded efforts that transcend their humble origins and happen to share some DNA.

Glenn Donaldson’s current project goes by the name: The Reds, Pinks, and Purples, and their latest LP Uncommon Weather was released in April on Slumberland Records (US) and Tough Love (UK). Donaldson spins effortless gems seemingly lifted from our mundane interior monologues, with “Don’t Pray At The Church On My Street” and “I’m Sorry About Your Life” standing out.

Like Radiator Hospital’s Sam Cook-ParrottDonaldson subtexts many songs with the impact of music on our daily lives: “The Biggest Fan”, The Record Player And The Damage Done”, and “The Songs You Used To Write”, among others. With a mountainous discography of varying projects over the years, any new fan will have a joyous journey. Mariana Timony has put in the hard yards to chart it all, and spun it into an amazing piece for Bandcamp.

Mister Baby (Katiana Mashikian) live on KXSF-102.5FM (2021)

Moonlighting from April Magazine and the live band iteration of The Reds, Pinks, and Purples, Katiana Mashikian has another ongoing project: Mister Baby. The latest effort, Sidewalk Pop, is out now on Paisley Shirt Records and a worthy successor to 2019’s There’s Hope In Cantalope.

For the most part a moody delight, the album peaks with the churning “cakeshop”. We turned into instant fans listening to her February acoustic set on the West Of Twin Peaks Radio show on KXSF, (with the station available as a standalone app, or via standard internet radio portals), and fortunately for us, they have archived a portion on YouTube.

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