Baby Dave announces new album Billy with single "am i clean???"

The album arrives alongside the latest single, “am i clean???”, a track that occupies dance-punk territory and song deals with Holman’s OCD and how it can lead him to prioritise obsessive personal hygiene over other aspects of life. “I have pretty severe ocd,” Holman says. “It makes me do things I don’t want to do and think about things I don’t want to think about. It’s torturous. It’s exhausting.”

The new collection of songs moves across bedroom rap, piano balladeering, whimsical country and lo-fi acoustics, with themes touching on grief, panic attacks, romance, insomnia and nostalgia for the past. The Baby Dave project began during a difficult period for Holman, when SOFT PLAY were on hiatus and lockdown had forced him to move back in with his parents while working as a gardener. He has described writing for the project as “deeply therapeutic” and necessary for his mental wellbeing.

Billy follows two previous Baby Dave records: 2022’s Monkey Brain, which featured multiple tracks produced by Damon Albarn, and 2023’s Different Gravy, which included a Kate Nash collaboration on the single “Telephobia”. Holman has since reunited with SOFT PLAY bandmate Laurie Vincent for 2024’s HEAVY JELLY.

Billy tracklist

“am i clean???”
“san pellegrino”
“zzzzzz”
“wAvY tUnE”
“selfdeprecatinglovesong”
“twat in the attic”
“bernard’s watch”
“mycelium”
“alaska”
“billy”