Billy Bobak – “Billy Wakes Up”

Good Thursday morning! I’ve been spending time with Billy Bobak’s album “Billy Wakes Up”, and after going over the details behind it, I wanted to share how it landed with me.

This is his debut album, centered on that move from teenage years into early adulthood, and I appreciated how direct he is about the confusion, excitement and growing awareness that shaped these songs. Reading about the way the Reading University Orchestra and Choir were recorded as a full ensemble for “Intro”, “Respite” and “Indo Girls” gave me a clearer sense of the scale he aimed for, and it adds a strong presence that fits the personal story he’s working with. I also liked seeing that Aya Elmansouri and Nick Fitch played important roles, since their contributions seem to support the broader ideas without overshadowing anything. His influences from The Beatles, David Bowie, Blur and Elvis Costello helped me understand the mix of approaches he’s pulling together, and it made me more curious about how he’ll build on this in the next parts of his planned three-album series.

If you check out “Billy Wakes Up”, I’d recommend giving his other releases some time as well, since he’s clearly building a larger body of work that connects in interesting ways. And make sure to follow Billy Bobak on social media so you can stay updated on whatever he releases next.