Tor Maries –aka Billy Nomates– had already attracted attention with his self-titled debut released in 2020 and produced by Geoff Barrow from Portishead, as well as through that collaboration with the increasingly essential Sleaford Mods on the song “Mork n Mindy”. The British take advantage of what is her second full-length to distance herself from those post-punk echoes that were beating (more or less pronounced) in the premiere two and a half years ago, approaching a more pop and accessible vein that, in any case, keeps the disturbing message as a plot line.
The present ‘Cacti’ It also serves for the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist to take an important step forward, billing a total of twelve songs that maintain the intrinsic nerve of yesteryear while looking more elaborate and rich in nuances than its predecessors. The second full-length from the Bristol-based artist is also (and consequently) a work with greater global accessibility, which continues to focus on uncomfortable topics such as politics, apathy or existential angst, but which opts for songs with structures clean and even decorated as the main means to reach the listener. It happens with the initial (and catchy) “Balance Is Gone”the mysterious and equally effective “Black Curtains In The Bag”, and the eighties “Blue Bones (Deathwish)” completing the initial trio of aces. The single also stands out “Spite”, “Same Gun”, the meaning “Saboteur Forcefield” o “Apathy Is Wild” as closure.
‘Cacti’ It is a noticeably more ambitious record than ‘Billy Nomates’ (Invada Records, 20) on the compositional level, with synthesizers and keyboards sharing the spotlight with Maries’ own vocal performance, which likewise reaches unprecedented heights here. A more than remarkable work that, as the author herself has declared, points to survival as the main goal and that, in any case, definitively places Billy Nomates on the map, suggesting that its potential going forward could well prove to be inexcusable.