Baby Dave - 'Telephobia ft Kate Nash'
Baby Dave and Kate Nash whirl us into their heartfelt and vulnerable collaboration.
‘Telephobia’ is the second single to be released from Baby Dave’s second album Different Gravy, and it is addictive. The track’s melody immediately makes you feel on edge, a feeling of fragmentation and helplessness and this translates to the relationship between the two artists duet. The song begins with a monologue from Issac Holman, where he explains the anxiety he feels answering or calling someone, and the frustration of “getting stuck” in your own brain. Nash plays the role of the confused loved ones, lamenting that every time she calls him it “rings and it rings and it rings”. The duet is extremely effective, with Holman detailing his troubles in the verses and Nash repeating the continual confusion of not being able to get hold of someone who has these anxieties in the chorus.
The two artists then harmonise with each other at the bridge, both waxing lyrical about overthinking the reasons why someone hasn’t called back & the natural response of an anxious person to blame themselves: ‘is it something that I said, is it something that I didn’t say?’.
The video explains the dichotomy between these two minds perfectly, with Holman alone trying to enjoy fairground rides, with a couple behind them who are having the time of their life. It cuts to him on different rides, solemn and dealing with these feelings on his own. The camera then pans to Nash, seemingly in the same position, feeling isolated and dealing with the aftershocks of the distance between the two. The gulf between the two is then removed by a soulful saxophone solo after the bridge, where the two reconcile and find comfort in each other, suddenly enjoying the fair as a pair.
This track is quintessentially British with Holman and Nash’s distinctive tones, and is bold in its exploration and demonstration of mental health, and it leaves us eager to hear the rest of the album.
Words by Megan Budgen
