Billy Nomates - Metalhorse (Invada Records) 
Release Date: Out Now
I don't know if you've been waiting for this as excitedly as I have but the new Billy Nomates album, 'Metalhorse', is here and it is a wondrous beast indeed. Opening with the title track, we are treated to a piano stomp of a song that draws inspiration from Elliott Smith and a vocal performance that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. 'Nothin Worth Winnin' comes next with an 80s sound to it as the lo-fi beats and keys create a disorientatingly brilliant night cruise soundtrack before 'The Test' returns to that rich piano sound and driving drums combination that works so upliftingly well.
On 'Override' there's a raw, garage-punk sound as the bass and drums to battle while the vocals take score before the melodies join in to add a velvet glove to the iron fist in the engine room. Strangler Hugh Cornwell joins the party on the moody 'Dark Horse Friend', a synth track that benefits from Cornwell's low slung vocal to give an element of earthiness to proceedings. The dramatic opening to 'Life's Unfair' could be a song from a West End musical as the piano and organs stomp along to the crashing drums while 'Plans' straps on the spandex and hits the town in the 80s with an infectious energy.
There's a Parisian feel to 'Gas' with a keys melody that has an air of mystery to it before leading into 'Comedic Timing' which shows a more delicate and reflective side to the song-writing on this album. Penultimate tack 'Strange Gift' has a country tinge and reminds of the Indigo Girls as the acoustic guitar rattles along and the piano honkies and tonks. Billy Nomates finishes the album off with 'Moon Explodes', a throbbing motorbike of a song that hums to the rhythm of the bass notes and hits top speed with some woozy synth melodies. This is an incredibly fresh and inventive album which I thoroughly recommend to anyone who has lost interest in music or is labouring under the common misconception that there is no good new music around.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/billynomatestor
Live Dates:
25 Sep: Phoenix, Exeter, UK
26 Sep: Papillon, Southampton, UK
28 Sep: Chalk, Brighton, UK
29 Sep: Waterfront, Norwich, UK
1 Oct: Project House, Leeds, UK
2 Oct: Academy 2, Manchester, UK
3 Oct: Glasgow SWG3 TV Studio, Glasgow, UK
5 Oct: Glasshouse, Newcastle, UK
6 Oct: Leadmill, Sheffield, UK
7 Oct: Metronome, Nottingham, UK
9 Oct: Electric Ballroom, London, UK
17 Nov: Den Atelier, Luxembourg, LUX
18 Nov: Trabendo, Paris, FRA
19 Nov: Botanique Museum, Brussels, BEL
23 Nov: Pumpehuset, Copenhagen, DEN
24 Nov: Kesselhaus, Berlin, GER
26 Nov: Gebäude9, Cologne, GER
27 Nov: Toekomstmuziek, Amsterdam, NED