North Wales psych-pop band Bau Cat release new single inspired by ‘Manosphere’ internet craze

Amelia Jones

Psych-pop band Bau Cat release new single ‘Traposphere’ inspired by the ‘Manopshere’ internet craze.

Bau Cat are a three-piece from the seaside town of Prestatyn, north Wales. Fronted by Abby Butler (vocals & bass) alongside Jim Davies (guitar & vocals) and Jack Wells (drums & vocals), they have built a reputation for captivating live performances that are equal parts playful, urgent and joyful.

The band have toured extensively across the UK, played Green Man and headlined the Toad Hall stage at Glastonbury Festival. They have received support from BBC Introducing, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio 6 Music and Seattle’s KEXP.

Their new single, Traposphere, is released on Libertino on the 21st of this month. Inspired by the uncomfortable and often absurd world of the online “Manosphere,” the song employs satire, defiance and a healthy dose of irreverence to call out the culture of misogyny, insecurity and misinformation that exists within these online spaces.

The band describe the song as “a bit of tough love”. Traposphere balances satire with defiance, calling bullshit on a culture of misogyny, misinformation and male insecurity while recognising the conditions that allow it to thrive. It’s angry, playful and unapologetic in equal measure.

For Bau Cat, Traposphere marks an important creative milestone. It’s the song where they’ve fully found their sound and the path they want to follow creatively – urgent, melodic, playful and fearless in equal measure.

Wearing its influences proudly – from the nervous energy of The Modern Lovers and the joyful eccentricity of The B-52s to the jangling jangle-pop of Orange Juice and the immediacy of early R.E.M. – while sounding unmistakably like Bau Cat, there’s a confidence running through the track, both lyrically and musically, that captures the band at their most assured.

Recorded live at Studio Tecna in Sheffield with Mercury Prize nominated producer David Glover (Self Esteem, Slow Club), the entire band performed together in one room, with amplifiers bleeding into microphones and minimal overdubs to capture the excitement of their live show. The result is a raw, immediate recording that fizzes with defiance, melody and joyful chaos.

You can listen to the new single here. 

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