David Baerwald

Following the abrupt breakup of David & David during the mid-'80s, David Baerwald launched his own recording path with the 1990 release of Bedtime Stories. Like the lone David & David album that preceded it, the record cloaked its unsettling portraits of emotional damage—whether inflicted or endured—behind understated melodies and placid arrangements. Critics responded with strong enthusiasm, yet commercial results remained minimal. On the 1993 follow-up Triage, Baerwald aligned the sonic atmosphere more closely with the lyrical darkness, shaping subdued textures that evoked a pop-leaning version of Tom Waits. Once more, reviewers offered considerable praise while sales dropped further. Nearly ten years passed before another album appeared, during which Baerwald collaborated with fellow artists and refined his instrumental technique. He contributed to Sheryl Crow’s landmark Tuesday Night Music Club and earned a Golden Globe nomination for the Moulin Rouge swan song “Come What May.” In 2002 he returned with Here Comes the Folk Underground.