Lex Helgerson’s “Pistol Pete” is a dreamy slam dunk

Lex Helgerson devoted her life to basketball. “You can’t tell me it’s just a game,” she gently admonishes in her latest release, “Pistol Pete”. This dizzying autobiography starts when she’s 12. The blurring haze of harmony immediately throws everything back several decades. Lex’s dream-like, slightly syncopated vocals further swallow the listener, pushing you further back in time.

The pulsing sonic bed lays the groundwork for deeply personal lyrics filled with ‘90s and ‘00s basketball slang that any kid on the court would have heard from the bleachers. Her dream of the WNBA ripples through the gnawing energy and desire building from beat to beat.

Anchoring her own narrative around Pistol Pete (aka Pete Maravich, an incredibly talented and creative offensive NBA player that three separate teams claimed over his career from 1966–1989), she ties her own dedication to his. Pete Maravich was a child prodigy at basketball. After he retired in 1980, he was adrift, trying to find who he was.

Lex clearly saw herself as a basketball player. But who was she when the court wasn’t there? Her heroes, the greats from the WNBA, are listed at the end of “Pistol Pete,” so the game isn’t gone. But her musical now took a while to find. And “Pistol Pete” is a slam dunk.

Stream “Pistol Pete” below.

Ben McCoy

Ben is an advertising Madman who spends his days with words and music. When he’s not writing for his supper, he’s eating it at some of NYC’s most interesting restaurants.