Billy Nomates - Metalhorse

Life's a funfair, but not the shiny kind with candy floss and prize-winning teddy bears. It's more like that abandoned park on the edge of town where the rusty Ferris wheel creaks in the wind and forgotten dreams collect like ticket stubs. That's the world Billy Nomates builds on 'Metalhorse', her third album that trades raw punk edges for something more cinematically ambitious.

Recording for the first time in a proper studio (Paco Loco in Seville) with a full band, Tor Maries has crafted her most expansive work yet. The bare-bones DIY approach of previous releases gives way to rich arrangements that feel like David Lynch scoring a Western. 'The Test' struts with 80s swagger, while 'Override' takes an unexpected detour down country roads, proving Maries isn't afraid to swap safety pins for spurs when the mood strikes.

But don't mistake the broader palette for softening edges. 'Life's Unfair' hits like a heavyweight's gut punch wrapped in velvet, while 'Plans' bursts through the melancholy with the wide-eyed rush of escape plans hatched in midnight diners. The production, helmed by James Trevascus, knows when to let the spaces breathe and when to fill them with swirling Leslie speakers and ghostly fairground echoes.