Billy Nomates at Electric Ballroom
There was a time when Billy Nomates was 100% a DIY solo project. End of story. Until Nomates herself (the moniker for the incredible Tor Maries) took the next step and added some – well, mates to the lineup.
Three albums in (with her latest Metalhorse earlier this year), it feels only natural that Billy Nomates now has company. Maries still returns to her solo roots occasionally, but for the UK tour coming to an end tonight, we have Mandy Clarke on bass, Liam Chapman on drums and Maries up front – this is Billy Nomates: The Band on the Electric Ballroom stage.
It’s the Metalhorse tour, so the setlist obviously leans towards newer material. However, with said album receiving rave reviews from fans and press alike, the likes of Nothin Worth Winnin and the defiant Plans fit in seamlessly with older songs.
Other recent tracks go down a treat; Maries gets the room to sing Hugh Cornwell’s booming refrain on Dark Horse Friend with gusto, while the jaunty waltz of Metalhorse is a suitable early slow-burner, and Clarke’s thundering bass elevates the tension of Moon Explodes. Yet the band’s best performance might be Heels, transforming an already fierce number into a mighty beast as the chorus’s sirens wail, and Maries does keepy-ups without missing a note.
The singer herself is at ease tonight, happily chatting to the audience between songs and doling out her thanks before launching into the trademark furious energy she’s had from the beginning. In those solo days, only a backing track would accompany her as she moved around the stage like a post-punk fitness instructor (that’s a compliment, I assure you). Nowadays, there’s less chaos, but the ferocity is ever-present, punching the air throughout the show, and her voice escalating to a howl on The Test.
Sidenote, Maries doesn’t get enough credit for her vocals… perhaps because her sprechgesang-style delivery on her 2020 debut was so widely noted, the singing had less attention. Whether she’s gently crooning on the Americana-tinged Strange Gift, or belting old favourite Hippy Elite, Maries’s voice is as strong as it’s ever been.
There’s a literal rest break for the band, sitting to read gossip mags onstage while Maries plugs her mixtape project with a boombox in hand to sing Pornos in the Waiting Room. Thanks to the visual gag, it doesn’t feel self-indulgent whatsoever – no doubt some people here will be buying a tape from her Bandcamp afterwards.
If there’s one thing to expect from Billy Nomates, it’s the unexpected. It seems daft that Maries would always stick to her spiky minimal post-punk ways, especially with life throwing many a curveball at her. The music has evolved all the better for it, and her live shows are becoming ever more enjoyable too.
There’s a palpable shift: hard work has got her this far, but it seems Billy Nomates is destined for greatness. You heard it here first.
Gem Hurley
Photos: Virginie Viche
For further information and future events visit Billy Nomates’s website here.
Watch the video for Heels here:
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