“This place has always been an underdog,” says Baby Brave’s singer/guitarist Emmi Manteau of the four piece’s home town-turned-city Wrexham, “But it’s got heart.”
The band – who share the premiere of the video for their just-released ‘Cherry Tomato’ with God Is In The TV here – came together through the local music scene in the North Wales city and have previously released a string of EPs and singles.
But the BBC Wales A-listed ‘Cherry Tomato’, an ingenious mix of Marr-esque guitar swirls and ESG-meets-Chic funkiness, comes from their forthcoming debut album, set to drop in Spring 2025. “Overdue perhaps,” laughs Emmi, “but somehow now felt like the right time.”
“At first, it felt like three different songs mashed together,” she continues, “It wasn’t until we worked with producer Charlie Francis in Cardiff that the arrangement truly came together. Charlie loved the lyric “I got cherry tomato on my mind” and suggested making it the hook – it hadn’t even occurred to us, but it worked so perfectly. We couldn’t stop smiling when we heard it all come together!”
The video is a collage of live performances, including their recent show at Paper Dress Vintage in London for the launch of Ode To Records – who release the single and album – and a layer of analogue photographs from Llandudno, the place and mood that inspired the song.
“It’s about a road trip down the A55 with a camera in hand,” says Emmi “taking old-school photos on the beach, of seagulls and hot chocolates, in a sleepy seaside town and realizing you might be falling in love, maybe.”
The forthcoming album, recorded at MusicBox Studios in Cardiff with Charlie Francis, is titled Sugar To The Tongue and the band promise it “rides the rollercoasters of love and anxiety —moments of betrayal, mood swings, and new beginnings.”
In the meantime the band play shows at London Kensington Troubadour supporting Belouis Some (February 12th), a double headline show with Heavy Salad at Ty Pawb in Wrexham (March 14) and are lined up for the FOCUS Wales Festival in May. A full tour around the album launch will be announced.
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