B-Side Guys

In the opening moments of “Headline Roulette,” Ottawa songwriter Isaac Baronikian captures a distinctly modern paradox with the line “Every time I think that we’re ahead / Limited perspectives I can’t stress this enough.” It’s a gentle indictment delivered through his characteristic soft, low vocals, setting the stage for a meditation on our complicated relationship with disaster in the digital age.

Baronikian, who has earned comparisons to mellowed-out storytellers like Donovan Woods and Jack Johnson, brings his producer’s ear to this self-recorded effort. The track’s production maintains an intentional sparseness that mirrors its thematic exploration of privilege and distance from global catastrophe. Rather than overwhelm with instrumental flourishes, the arrangement creates space for his observations to land with full weight.

The song’s central metaphor of “Headline roulette” proves particularly effective when paired with lines about “Coffee gossip culture,” painting a picture of casual consumption of tragedy. Baronikian’s delivery remains measured even as he catalogs devastating events, from earthquakes with “no survivors” to “Forest fires burning in the west,” making the contrast between content and tone all the more striking.

As a producer handling his own recording and mixing (before passing it to a local engineer for mastering), Baronikian demonstrates remarkable restraint. Each element sits precisely where it needs to be in the mix, creating an intimate atmosphere that draws listeners into these uncomfortable reflections on modern life. The production choices reinforce the song’s message about the deceptive comfort of distance.

The track’s structure builds with a deliberate pace, each verse adding new layers to its examination of privileged detachment. When Baronikian sings “Climate change arriving at your steps / Sink or swim,” it serves as both warning and wake-up call, suggesting that the luxury of distance is ultimately temporary. The repetition of “What a luxury to play” throughout the song takes on an increasingly bitter tone with each iteration.

These themes of disconnection and delayed consequence feel particularly resonant coming from Ottawa’s folk scene, where Baronikian has built a reputation for prolific songwriting and sharp social commentary. His approach here shows the influence of early 2000s indie rock while maintaining the directness of folk tradition, creating a bridge between observational songwriting and contemporary concerns.

The song’s economic use of language matches its stripped-down musical approach. There’s no wasted motion as Baronikian moves from personal reflection to global catastrophe and back again, each line serving the larger narrative about information overload and emotional distance. The “sink or swim” ultimatum near the song’s end feels less like a conclusion and more like a question mark hanging over everything that came before.

For an artist known to write “more songs this year than weeks have gone by,” “Headline Roulette” shows the value of careful editing and focused vision. While it may have initially received limited promotion upon its December 2023 release, the song’s examination of how we process (or fail to process) global tragedy through our screens remains powerfully relevant. It’s a testament to Baronikian’s growing artistic confidence that he can tackle such weighty themes while maintaining the intimate feel of those Ottawa open mics where he honed his craft.