Ahead of her tour and hotly anticipated second studio album, CACTI, Billy Nomates has shared a new track and video; ‘saboteur forcefield.‘ In this track, Bristol-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Tor Maries, lays bare her penchant for self-sabotage, an admission she hopes could be “the first step” towards unlearning some of her destructive patterns. Maries said “I think it’s about the inevitable feeble fight against feeling and progress”. The mellow track showcases another side to forthcoming album, CACTI, set for release on 13 January via Invada Records.
“Saboteur forcefield” follows the release of the “blue bones”, a gentle, 80s-influenced, synth-pop bop which was a celebration of life, featuring the refrain, “Death don’t turn me on like it used to.” It was BBC Radio 6 Music A-Listed, while ‘balance is gone,’ which charted Tor’s attempts to find purpose, is currently B-Listed at BBC Radio 6 Music. Speaking of the hook laden track ‘balance is gone.’ Tor said: “It’s a lot to ‘ask, balance.’ Does anybody feel on kilter? Has anybody achieved all that harmony? I don’t think it’s a unique chase. And some days, it’s good to acknowledge it got up and left the room.”
Recorded at her flat and at Invada Studios, CACTI, is a huge step up for the artist, who received widespread acclaim for her eponymous 2020 debut album, with heavy airplay across BBC Radio 6 Music and support from luminaries such as Iggy Pop, Florence Welsh and Steve Albini.
Though every bit as unrepentant as Billy Nomates’ debut, CACTI comes from a much more exposed place and sees Tor further develop her instinctive, inventive songwriting and production. Unafraid to wade into the traumas of the past two years and the eerie sense of apathy that lingers, alongside heartache and more political themes, the 12-track collection openly confronts uncomfortable truths, as Tor puts it, “70-80% of being bold is about being vulnerable as hell.”
Maries said: “Writing CACTI took just over a year. I wrote very intensely and then none at all. (This seems to be the way I work best).I hope everyone finds their own narrative in CACTI. I think it’s about surviving it all.”
Billy Nomates, will perform live on Later… With Jools Holland on BBC2 this Saturday 22nd October, also announces new UK and European live dates for April 2023, which includes a new show in her hometown of Bristol at Marble Factory on 29th April and her biggest headline show to date at London’s Kentish Town Forum on 27th April 2023.
She is also embarking on a nine date tour of the UK next month with a London show at Village Underground on November 22nd which is now sold out, as have dates in Norwich, Bristol and Falmouth. Tickets for all other shows are available here
CACTI is available to pre-order and pre-save here
Billy Nomates Live dates:
November 2022
22 – London – Village Underground – SOLD OUT
23 – Oxford – The Bullingdon
24 – Cambridge – MASH
26 – Norwich – Norwich Arts Centre – SOLD OUT
27 – Sheffield – Leadmill
28 – Stoke-on-Trent – Sugarmill
29 – Liverpool – Arts Club
December 2022
01 – Bristol – Trinity – SOLD OUT
03- Falmouth – Cornish Bank – SOLD OUT
March 2023
14 – Grand Mix, Lille, France
15 – Petit Bain, Paris, France
16- L’astrolabe, Orleans, France
17- Rockschool Barbey, Bordeaux, France
20 – El Sol, Madrid, Spain
22 – La Nau, Barcelona, Spain
24 – Le Périscope, Lyon, France
25- Covo Club, Bologna, Italy
27 – Magnolia, Milan, Italy
28 – Bogen F, Zurich, Switzerland
29 – Milla, Munich, Germany
31- Badehaus, Berlin, Germany
April 2023
1- Loppen, Copenhagen, Denmark
2- Molotow, Hamburg, Germany
4- Blueshell, Cologne, Germany
5- Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam, Netherlands
6 – Botanique Orangerie, Brussels, Belgium
17 – Tramshed, Cardiff
19 – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
20- New Century Hall, Manchester
21 – Stylus, Leeds
22 – St Lukes, Glasgow
24- Boiler Shop, Newcastle
25 – Institute 1, Birmingham
27- Kentish Town Forum, London
28 – Chalk, Brighton
29 – Marble Factory, Bristol
