Adam Balbo - Fix

San Francisco’s Adam Balbo is at his best when he’s making a particular kind of fun of himself, mocking his own lyrical and metaphoric choices as he considers the greater “purpose” of singer/songwriters. Also standout are his more silly songs where he takes a stream-of-consciousness look at random bits of life, which could be thought of as poignant for their suggestions of modern detachment, but are also just funny. Fix is low-fi basement folk through and through, with Balbo strumming casually as his lyrics take the helm, his low, world-weary drawl and the randomness it spews being the main attraction. Nineteen songs long with most under two minutes, there’s no time for celebration or wallowing; the snippets bounce quickly from emotions to proclamations to dinner.

“Obligatory Highway Analogy” mocks the over-used image of the open road, announcing “The highway is the analogy I will employ to sing about love and other stuff,” because “an old reliable comparison works for me.” He sings in a sort of deadpan, accepting tone, easing into a place where love songs are cliché, but we still must suffer through loss and the various associated emotions. “Debating A Time Metaphor” is a similarly introspective look at the way songs attempt to be “deep,” where he speaks between the chorus of “Time in a bottle will get stale/drink it before the expiration date passes,” pondering his use of those words. The lines alone would seem like they were trying too hard, whereas his musings such as “Why do you have to sing and stylize figurative language?” as he wrestles with his word choice are funny rather than painful. And then there’s “Convenient Dinner,” where he describes the process of making macaroni and cheese, relating to its fakeness as the song floats through amusing descriptions. Bilbo is entertaining because he wonders why we write songs, thus lifting his universal subjects and considerations from mundanity.