Baxter Dury - I Thought I Was Better Than You

Baxter Dury tells us about the influences behind new LP 'I Thought I Was Better Than You'

baxter dury
photo: Tom Berd

After three albums where he memorably played a variety of louche, seedy characters, Baxter Dury has turned the lens on himself for his seventh full-length LP. Back in 2021 he released his terrific memoir Chaise Longue, and clearly had a lot more to say on his youth spent as “the son of a famous working class poet.” (That would be Ian Dury, who put Baxter on the cover of his classic 1977 album New Boots and Panties.) He’s still playing a character here, with lines still delivered in that distinct elocution, but this time it’s himself. Musically, there is new territory too. Working with producer Paul White (Danny Brown, Charli XCX, Sudan Archives), some hip hop production elements enter the mix, alongside Baxter’s usual arsenal of strings, dub, ’60s orch pop, and post-punk. I Thought I Was Better Than You is a terrific record and you can listen to the whole thing below.

Baxter was nice enough to tell us about some of the musical influences on I Thought I Was Better Than You, including Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood, Whodini, Kendrick Lamar, Grace Jones, The Avalanches and more. Read that below.

BAXTER DURY – 10 INFLUENCES BEHIND ‘I THOUGHT I WAS BETTER THAN YOU’

KENDRICK LAMAR – “KING KUNTA”
The angsty, dark, unfolding, self-reflective narrative is so beautifully performed and I find his use of language unlike anyone else’s. Inspiring in a way but not noticeable in my music, just admired from a distance.

GRACE JONES – “LA VIE EN ROSE”
The atmospheric width to this song is musically incredible and then Grace Jones just commands the space that’s left.

FRANK OCEAN – “PINK MATTER”
Intuitive almost demo-sounding and strangely constructed as though it’s a few ideas all at once, sort of falling apart. I found it helped set a tone to what’s possible.

NANCY SINATRA & LEE HAZLEWOOD – “SUMMER WINE”
Spooky yet dreamy. Paul White – the producer – and I listened to songs like this to help find other tones.

WHODINI – “FRIENDS”
My friend Geoff Barrow sent me this song randomly one day and said that this should be my new direction. I totally agreed but never came close to it. I’ll continue to try though…

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART – “I’M GLAD”
Rough round the edges soul ballad with gritty singing that was so inspiring.

BLOSSOM DEARIE – “BABY, YOU’RE MY KIND”
Bonkers groovy love song relatively unknown but more about a sound.

TYLER THE CREATOR – “GONE, GONE / THANK YOU”
The freedom Tyler has creating music is so inspiring but no matter where he goes he has such a strong personality and voice that he keeps everything glued all together.

THE AVALANCHES – “TONIGHT MAY HAVE TO LAST ALL MY LIFE”
This is more about the construction of samples and the intuitive way they build up pieces of music.

FISHERMANS – “NIGHT CRUISING”
Unique Japanese ‘90s groovy dub from Tokyo. Their music has an awkward acknowledgment to Jamaican reggae or American soul music but is entirely its own thing.

Baxter will be on tour in the UK and Europe this fall…

baxter dury tour