Brigitte Calls Me Baby – Band of the Month [August]

Our featured band this month is Chicago-based indie/alternative quintet Brigitte Calls Me Baby.

The music of Brigitte Calls Me Baby is equal parts elegant time warp and up-close exploration of our modern-day neuroses. The band ingeniously spans genres and eras, merging the lavish romanticism of mid-century pop with the frenetic energy and spiky intensity of early-millennium indie-rock. Centered on lead singer Wes Leavins’ hypnotically crooning vocal work, the result is a rare convergence of sophistication and style and unabashed sincerity.

As shown on their last year’s debut EP This House Is Made Of Corners, Brigitte Calls Me Baby possess a singular musicality informed by Leavins’ eclectic upbringing. Originally from the Southeast Texas town of Port Arthur, he grew up listening to Roy Orbison records at his grandparents’ house next door, while his parents played him new-wave bands like The Cars and his friends turned him onto Radiohead and The Strokes. At age 13, Leavins took up guitar and began writing songs of his own, quickly discovering his distinct vocal style.

“At first I didn’t like the way I sang and couldn’t really do anything about it, but as I got older I started to appreciate it more,” he reveals. “My whole inclination toward music came from being in this small town in Texas with nowhere to go and nothing to do, and wanting to be understood without having to say anything.” 

Upon moving to Chicago in 2016, Leavins immersed himself in the local music scene and soon linked up with guitarists Jack Fluegel and Trevor Lynch, bassist Devin Wessels, and drummer Jeremy Benshish, who joined him in co-founding Brigitte Calls Me Baby. As the band built up their catalog, Leavins was tapped to take part in recreating a series of Elvis Presley songs for Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 biopic Elvis, a turn of events that found him crossing paths with Cobb. Soon after sharing a batch of demos with Cobb, BCMB headed to Nashville to record their debut body of work at the legendary RCA Studio A.

“In so much music there’s a desire to be perceived as someone who’s got it all figured out, but I never want to paint a picture that isn’t true. I know that when I was younger I was looking for something to latch onto that I could connect with and feel a part of, so I’d hope that our music could provide that for others. I want to create something that helps people feel more alive, and that will last long after we’re gone.” —Leavins

Debut Album

After a much-buzzed-about set at SXSW 2023, the band signed to ATO Records to release their debut album “The Future Is Our Way Out”. With this record, the five-piece share a body of work that spans genres and eras, merging the lavish romanticism of mid-century pop with the frenetic energy and spiky intensity of early-millennium indie, all centered on singer Wes Leavins’ hypnotically crooning vocal work.

Partially recorded at RCA Studio A in Nashville with previous collaborator and 9x Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb, The Future Is Our Way Out also features a selection of songs self-produced by Leavins and his bandmates. With the band’s poetic meditations on desire, anxiety, and the complexities of impermanence, it arrives as a potent evolution of Brigitte Calls Me Baby’s debut EP This House Is Made Of Corners (November 2023).

‘The Future Is Our Way Out’, is out now via ATO. Grab it here.

Follow Brigitte Calls Me Baby:

Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, Bandcamp, Youtube

FFO: The Smiths, Elvis Presley, Morrissey, The Killers…

Upcoming Tour Dates

9/7 – Fine Line – Minneapolis, MN
9/8 – High Noon Saloon – Madison, WI
9/10 – Resonant Head – Oklahoma City, OK
9/12 – Empire Control Room – Austin, TX
9/13 – White Oak Music Hall – Upstairs – Houston, TX
9/14 – Three Links – Dallas, TX
916 – Vinyl at Center Stage – Atlanta, GA’
9/17 – The End – Nashville, TN
9/18 – Upstairs at Avondale – Birmingham, AL
9/20 – Cat’s Cradle Back Room – Carrboro, NC
9/21 – XPoNential Music Festival – Camden, NJ
9/22 – The Atlantis – Washington, DC
9/25 – The Drake Underground – Toronto, ON
9/26 – The Stache at The Intersection – Grand Rapids, MI
9/27 – HI-FI Indianapolis – Indianapolis, IN
9/28 – Rose Bowl Tavern – Urbana, IL
10/1 – The Coast – Fort Collins, CO
10/2 – Fox Theatre – Boulder, CO
10/4 – Reverb Lounge – Omaha, NE
10/5 – The Raccoon Motel – Davenport, IA
10/7 – Paramount Theatre – Denver, CO
10/8 – The Black Sheep – Colorado Springs, CO
10/10 – Knitting Factory Concert House – Boise, ID
10/11& 12 – The Showbox – Seattle, WA
10/13 – McMenamins Crystal Ballroom – Portland, OR
10/15 – Ace of Spades – Sacramento, CA
10/17 – The Warfield – San Francisco, CA
10/19 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA
10/21 – Humphreys Concerts By The Bay – San Diego, CA

Photo credit: Scarlet Page