Babies in the Lost and Found -
goth-pop indictment of priviledge and oppression
Song: Babies in the Lost & Found
Release date: Jan. 17th 2025
Band: Pleeay
FFO: Special Interest, Patriarchy, Delilah Bon, Amyl and the Sniffers
LISTEN TO “Babies in the Lost and Found”
Story
“Babies in the Lost and Found” is the medication you take when your head aches and your bladder is about to burst after doom-scrolling through news stories. When the overwhelm and helplessness boils over, and the careless healthcare system has nothing to offer, Pleeay will swaddle you in dance-able rage.
This song is an indictment of the institutions that claim to provide structure to our society while consistently and callously leaving our most vulnerable populations out to dry. “Babies in the lost and found” is both a metaphor and an observation to show the effects of greed and hypocrisy. As we inch toward a new era of fascism in global politics, it is crucial to stand tall and protect each other with our eyes and hearts open to prevent any babies from ending up in the lost and found.
nuts and Bolts
The song opens with a whirling landscape of synth sounds, drums, and a bass guitar being played with a plank of wood. The lyrics enter gently “...I like to think I’m thinking…” as an embodiment of the social conundrum we find ourselves navigating where no amount of thinking can solve these systemic issues. We have to tear it down and rebuild, but instead “we love to think our thinking solves the problem.”
The first verse comes as a visceral shock of rapid-fire lyrics accompanied by cymbal crashes and an intensifying wild bass guitar carried by a relentless synth pulse. Choruses and verses exchange as the two lyrical tones trade perspectives back and forth (one representing privilege, the other representing rage) . The bass guitar gains shoots into focus as the synth and drums carry on like waves crashing. The crescendo is preceded by a long instrumental section for the listener to process their place between privilege and rage. The song ends with the lyrics repeating “waiting for an enemy so they can live purposely, but righteousness won’t feed the mouths of babies in the lost and found!”
Recorded in a fit of giggles and glee at Women’s Audio Mission in San Francisco with engineer Arielle Flinkman and consulting producer Christina Cerza (HotGothGF). Lovingly mastered by Jessica Thompson.
Band
PLEEAY is a trio of Bay Area art punks (2 queers and 1 unrelenting ally) wheeling and squealing in San Francisco. PLEEAY double-dares the world to resist conformity, choose consciousness over convenience, and live loudly with compassion.
PLEEAY recently opened for the Pussy Riot in San Francisco, and played with the Special Interest for a special party at Stanford University (they’re Ivy League!). PLEEAY lit up the City Hall mainstage of SF Pride alongside N3PTUNE + RSTY, Commando, and Billy Porter - using the platform to advocate for public divestment from war and weaponry. Most recently, PLEEAY was voted runner up as “Best Band of the Bay” in 48Hills’s annual reader poll just after Fantastic Negrito (we bow down).
More about “Babies is the lost and Found”
BIG PICTURE
“Babies in the Lost and Found” is the second single off Pleeay’s EP “Wealth and Hellness Vol. I” set to release in spring 2025. The band is well on its way to completing Volumes II + III. Hopefully by the release of Wealth and Hellness Vol. III, there will be less need for systemic rage - but until then, Pleeay will be transcribing, uniting, and channeling every last drop.
THE VIBE
We are furious and we are fed up. People say they’re pro-life but care more about their guns than their children. We aren’t playing nice anymore. It’s time to wake up or shut up.
Silly lil Similie
If this song were a film, it would be about gay rights activist Tom Higgins who threw a pie in Anita Bryant's face on TV.
“Babies in the Lost and Found” Cover Art
Quotes from the band about
“Babies in the Lost and Found”
“The bottom line is I have all this rage around corruption, greed, and blatant hypocrisy, so why not transcribe it into art? Why not use the rage to focus myself and activate change?”
— Castle, VOX/LYRICS
“I think this song rocks. It asks questions and gets angry.”
— Pete, bass guitar
“This song is a stroll through a Gotham alley, it's a Dark Knight”
— Huli, drums/synths
Photos: Sloane Kanter