Tor Maries, the Bristol post-punk musician who records under the name Billy Nomates, first popped up on our radar with her Emergency Telephone EP last year, but she’s been at it for a while. Later this week, Maries will follow her self-titled 2020 Billy Nomates album with a new LP called Cacti. Maries co-produced the album with the Goon Sax collaborator James Trevascus, and she played most of the instruments herself. (Beak>’s Billy Fuller plays bass one some songs, while Geoff Barrow, from Portishead and Beak>, plays cymbals on one track.)

Today, a few days before Cacti comes out, Tor Maries has shared the new Billy Nomates song “Vertigo.” It’s not a U2 cover. Instead, “Vertigo” is a driving, propulsive freakout that slides back and forth between a couple of styles. On the verses, Maries fires off rants over a jittery rhythm track like she’s James Murphy. On the chorus, though, the song takes on a bluesy immediacy, and I get vague Bonnie Raitt vibes? That can’t be right, can it? Below, listen for yourself and check out the dates for Billy Nomates’ short just-announced North American tour.

TOUR DATES:
5/17 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
5/19 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
5/21 – Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s Tavern
5/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge

Cacti is out 1/13 on Invada Records.