Billy Nomates has announced details of a new EP, ‘Emergency Telephone’, and shared the first track from it – ‘Heels’.
The release follows the Bristol and Bournemouth-based artist’s self-titled debut album, which was put out last year.
The new EP will arrive on March 5 and will predominantly deal with “communication breakdowns; personally, mentally, physically”.
The dark, propulsive ‘Heels’ is the first song to be taken from the five-track record and you can watch the video for it below now. “Heels is about knowing who we are,” Billy Nomates told NME.
“It’s about acknowledging strength under scrutiny and pressure. It’s also about how playtime feels over. Stuff’s serious. We don’t know how any of what’s happening ends yet. There are about 10 threats every day at any given time that feel big enough to stop you from doing anything. It’s digging for a warrior approach to keep going.
‘Emergency Telephone’ is its own small narrative. It’s about communication breakdown in the age of communication.
The musician – whose real name is Tor Maries – added of the EP as a whole: “‘Emergency Telephone’ is its own small narrative. It’s about communication breakdown in the age of communication, not really knowing how to communicate anything, good or bad.
“I liked the idea of emergency telephones, payphones. You’d have to know exactly what to say and why if you were to use one. They’re all being removed and cut off. I guess this is my response to the last year.”
Recently, Maries featured on Sleaford Mods‘ ‘Mork n Mindy’, which appeared on their latest album ‘Spare Ribs’. Previously, the band’s Jason Williamson appeared on the Billy Nomates song ‘Supermarket Sweep’.
Speaking to NME around the release of her debut album last year, Maries discussed the record’s tales of class struggle and social inequality.
“I’ve never really had money, but I was the poorest I’d been a couple of years ago after working a load of minimum wage jobs,” Maries explained. “I was miserable and poor and unfulfilled: I couldn’t write about fancying someone or anything nice. I thought: ‘If I’m going to write again, I have no option but to write about ‘ah, it’s all crap.’”
The article was adapted from nme.com.