BABEHOVEN Share "Wave Has A Place" Final Single
Hudson, NY-based project of Maya Bon and Ryan Albert explores privilege and loneliness in new album.
Babehoven - the Hudson, NY-based project of singer/songwriter Maya Bon and producer and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Albert - have released 'Wave Has A Place,' the final single from their new album, I See Them, I See Me, out this Friday, September 18th via Double Double Whammy.
''Wave Has A Place' is a song about loving someone who is cushioned from consequences, and the loneliness of witnessing that from the outside. It's about comfort worn as armor, privilege as identity, demanding honesty from someone who refuses to really see anyone else's perspective. It's about yearning for a home to be safe but feeling that it's an alligator nest,' Bon explains.
I See Them, I See Me, Babehoven's third studio album, probes into the idea of a 'parallax view' – different perspectives on the same reality – as the band seeks to reorient themselves in relation to society's increasingly warped ways of being and seeing. Through fourteen tracks that crackle with clear-eyed vision, Babehoven has crafted a transcendent new collection that gets back to the heart of what makes music meaningful and life worth living.
In 2024, during Babehoven's first headline tour, Bon suffered from paralysis of her right vocal chord. For much of the next year, she was unable to sing, and she was told that she might never recover. 'I have so much gratitude now that I am able to sing again,' Bon says. 'To not only sing, but to sing with joy. I think part of the idea of 'having fun' with this album is trying to really enjoy what we can do, the gifts we have.'
In light of this, the album rings out as a sort of triumphant fist-pump, the flash of a battle scar. Around the time of her vocal injury, Bon underwent nine sessions of high-dose ketamine therapy for depression. Each session sent her into a kind of lucid dreaming, and many of the lyrics on the album have a surreal, associative quality, further blurring the edges of reality.
'As things with climate change and the state of the world get more dire and confusing,' Bon says, 'it's hard to tell sometimes if what we're experiencing is reality because it feels so unbelievably grim.' Albert agrees, adding, 'We have a beautiful life, and also we are witnessing catastrophe after catastrophe happen around the world.'
It is another parallax view: what is real and what is a dream? I see them, I see me is a buoyant journey toward liberation, taking back the reins of joy from the circumstances that would separate us from it. Babehoven is moving forward on their own terms. 'We get to choose how we view the world around us,' Bon concludes. And perhaps, these songs suggest, we meet each other somewhere beyond sight. Somewhere deeper, closer to the heart.
For the first time in Babehoven's prolific output, Bon and Albert blew the doors open on their process, inviting in three different engineers to capture the songs in four different studios. The all-star line-up includes Sam Evian, Kevin Copeland, and Phil Weinrobe, who also acted as a co-producer. 'We wanted to incorporate a fresh, live, honest feel into the recordings,' the band says. 'We actively tried to have more fun with making this album.'
To that end, much of I see them, I see me was live-tracked with a six-person ensemble, and Weinrobe instilled a philosophy of 'no playback, no headphones, and no preparation' to create maximal presence in the room. This approach allowed the band to loosen up more and tap into the energy of being onstage, where they spent much of the last few years on tour.
Tracklist
1. You're A Liar
2. When You Look at Me
3. Lasagna
4. Monster
6. Something True
7. Jess Has A Place
8. Am I in a Dream
10. Neck
11. Beetle on the Scene
12. Three Reds
13. Pelorus
Tour Dates
10/08 - Catskill, NY @ The Avalon Lounge
11/05 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's *
11/07 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby's All Right *
11/14 - Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen ~
11/17 - Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern ^
11/18 - Portland, OR @ Show Bar ^
11/20 - San Francisco, CA @ 4 Star Theatre ^
11/22 - Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon ^
* w/ Jane Lai
~ w/ Shoulder Bird
^ w/ Pileup
Photo Credit: CJ Harvey | Download Hi-Res
Photo Credit: CJ Harvey | Download Hi-Res
