The last year and a half has been a period of extremes for Tor Maries, aka Bristol-based songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Billy Nomates. The tour of her previous album, 2023’s critically acclaimed CACTI, culminated in a Glastonbury performance that received enough misogynistic abuse online for Maries to request that the footage be taken down. In reality, though, that was the least of her worries.

Produced by James Trevacsus and recorded at Paco Loco in Seville, ‘Metalhorse’ is the first Billy Nomates album to be made in a studio and with a full band. Enlisting bass player Mandy Clarke (KT Tunstall, The Go! Team) and drummer Liam Chapman (Rozi Plain, BMX Bandits), who round out Billy Nomates live.

Metalhorse begs the listener to find their own funfair. It might not be the loss of someone significant, or trying to find a foothold in an industry in crisis, but there will always be things that feel perilous. At the same time, you have to marvel at the lights while they’re still on. Dancing with those feelings of uncertainty and joy, Metalhorse is awash with both pain and perseverance.

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