Babehoven Talks New Album, Activism Ahead of Upcoming Tour
By: Olivia Mezzullo
After a long last year on road, supporting acts such as Slow Pulp, Horse Jumper of Love and MJ Lenderman, Babehoven is ready to return to their roots with their sophomore album Water’s Here In You.
The indie folk duo, composed of singer-songwriter Maya Bon and musician-producer Ryan Albert, began work on their second album in the winter of 2022, amongst the warm backdrop of the couple’s home in Hudson, New York. The record is a melodic exploration of genre from folk to indie rock to shoegaze while managing to stay true to its core themes: human connection, the natural world, forgiveness and healing.
Bon, an avid environmentalist, said she got inspiration for aspects of Water’s Here in You from the outdoors. From her experiences hiking in her hometown outside Los Angeles, to looking outside her window in her current home in upstate New York. On the track “Lonely Cold Seed,” Bon writes from the perspective of a cardinal, an idea she got just by observing nature.
“I think that definitely the fact that we have this almost television show outside of our window of birds and deer and bunnies and hawks and so many cool animals, that comes through the music for sure,” she said.
Just as imagery of nature strings together Babehoven’s record, so does Bon’s penchant for abstract lyricism that often feels like poetry. Most tracks off the album don’t have a clear lyrical narrative, tending to spiral around central motifs in a way that feels open-ended and almost spiritual. Still, its themes are present, even if subconsciously. Referring to “Birdseye”, the first track on the record, which Bon has described as a song about reconnecting with a family member who is sick, she admits writing many of Babehoven’s songs through a somewhat subconscious lens.
“I wasn't actively trying to write a song about the family member I had just reconnected with, it was just kind of later on listening to it [I realized].”
Bon doesn’t try to imbue specific meaning into all of Babehoven’s songs, though. She said that before she releases an album, she writes down the meanings of each song, but ultimately, the meaning is in the eye of the listener.
“I like the fact that music is in some ways, irrelevant,” said Bon.“What the songwriter is thinking about isn't relevant when it comes to the listener's experience.”
Much of her songwriting is stream-of-consciousness or seemingly random; a line in the song “Millenia” is quite literally about Bon’s experience of Googling the word, only to find an image of what she describes as a “stucco Cheesecake Factory” in Millenia, Florida. She is able to connect this with the larger picture, though. describing the track as “a perfect microcosmic fractionalized example of life at this point in 2023 – now 2024.”
“I don't know, seeing the scale of organizing right now where they tried to shut down the protests in Colombia. Now, it's popped up like fire across the whole country, [it] gives me chills. I'm reminded of the quote, they tried to bury us, but they didn't realize we were seeds,” Bon said.
She continued, “Our world is so fucked up. But it's also so beautiful. And I want to be able to hold that dialectic perspective in song”
Bon, along with two other musicians, organized the Musicians for a Free Palestine compilation which includes unreleased songs and demos from around 70 different artists/bands and to raise money to buy people e-Sims in Gaza. Bon sent out a call to fellow musicians about the cause and organized the creation of the compilation, and Albert mastered the whole thing from their house. The compilation includes songs from artists including Mannequin Pussy, Horse Jumper of Love and Squirrel Flower.
“[It] felt really hopeful in the sense that like, the music community that I’m a part of, at least, is like unequivocally anti-Zionist, pro-Palestine, like, which I feel really connected,” Bon, a Jewish anti-Zionist herself, said.
Along with the release of Water’s Here In You, Babehoven will be embarking on their first headlining tour over the next two months. Their previous experience touring with Slow Pulp last fall was a big step for them as live performers, where they were able to get past their nerves and play a perfect set at a few shows, Bon expressed they are carrying this energy into this upcoming tour.
“Ryan and I have some really new songs that we've been demoing this week that we're playing some of on this tour, and some of them are just like, so good,” said Bon.
“I feel really excited to share them. Especially because they're fresh.”
Babehoven’s first show on the Water’s Here In You tour is May 6 at DC9. Tickets are available here.