Brigitte Calls Me Baby: Fresh rock for the romantic existentialists.
An introduction to Chicago’s very own up-and-coming alternative rockers.
artwork by Eliana Schiller.
When my dad texted me one afternoon last October asking if I’d like to see a new band with him, I never could have predicted that I’d soon witness one of my favorite live performances of all time; in the West Loop’s humble and eclectic Bottom Lounge, I saw Brigitte Calls Me Baby. Opening for their also up-and-coming headliners, The Last Dinner Party, five coolly dressed men took the stage—the standout among them being lead singer Wes Leavins with his signature blonde pompadour. As the band began their set, I was captivated by a mix of Elvis-meets-Morrissey vocals and late-90s alt-rock instrumentals. Leavins belted and hit wild runs, all while doing crazy tricks with the mic stand. It was clear that I had just met the next band I never knew I needed.
Growing up in the small Texas town of Port Arthur, Leavins says he turned to music as an outlet for his boredom. He began songwriting at age 13 and started to get in touch with his personal sound around age 19, accepting that he had to stray from emulating idols like the Cocteau Twins and MGMT in order to embrace his natural, deep, crooner tone. Connecting with potential bandmates online brought Leavins to Chicago in 2016, and Brigitte Calls Me Baby was born with the help of producer Dave Cobb.
The band, made up of guitarists Jack Fleugel and Trevor Lynch, bassist Devin Wessels, drummer Jeremy Benshish, and, of course, lead vocalist Wes Leavins, got their start performing at Austin music festival South By Southwest in 2023 amid big names (and influences) like The Strokes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. There, Brigitte Calls Me Baby captured the attention of ATO Records.
The crew released their hit single, “Eddie My Love,” in January 2023, followed up that November by their five-song EP, This House is Made of Corners. Just before their first Lollapalooza performance this summer, they released their full debut album, The Future is Our Way Out. Touring consistently since early 2023, Brigitte Calls Me Baby has been racking up listeners across the US and abroad, playing a number of UK shows and making frequent visits to its birth place, the Windy City. Now, onto the music!
If you like upbeat, drum-heavy jams, accompanied by crooner-esque, belty vocals, you’ll love the five tracks that make up This House is Made of Corners. Although it was not the first song released from the EP, “Impressively Average” is a prime introduction to the world of Brigitte Calls Me Baby. Showcasing Leavins’ stellar vocals, along with fast-paced rhythm and guitar riffs, the track runs full steam ahead right from the start. Featuring themes of heartache and frustration with human limitations, this song is emblematic of much of the bands’ message. Leavins sings, “Multiply the things you thought you wanted/When you were young and thought that you had fallen/But now I'm all you want and your blood is clotted/And you can't fall asleep 'cause your dreams are haunted.” Here, the vocalist references forgotten dreams and romantic regrets, making “Impressively Average” a classic Brigitte Calls Me Baby existentialist anthem.
“Palm of Your Hand,” “You Are Only Made of Dreams,” and “Eddie My Love” are the perfect trio for the hopeless (in multiple senses) romantics. While “Palm of Your Hand” stresses the idea of love having an expiration date, “Eddie My Love” tells the story of a friend who senses something more than friendship…but how can he know for sure? Finally, “You Are Only Made of Dreams” perfectly encapsulates desperate devotion. With the refrain, “And if I had it my way/I’d die/And with you I’d stay,” “You Are Only Made of Dreams” is just the song for a case of star-crossed love. “The Future is Our Way Out” rounds out the EP and echoes existentialism, envisioning the end of the world and expressing a desire to be somewhere good but just out of reach.
Brigitte Calls Me Baby’s debut album, The Future is Our Way Out, consists of the five This House is Made of Corners hits, along with six more dreamy indie, alt-rock pieces. While the EP has an almost uniformly high-energy vibe, The Future is Our Way Out highlights the band’s impressive range of mood. “Always Be Fine” is a standout among the more soulful tunes on the album; overtop a gentler guitar and rhythm section, Leavins infuses his melody with an especially 50s tone. He sings of his love for and commitment to his partner, but would this really be a Brigitte Calls Me Baby ballad without a bit of morbidity? Leavins sings, “Don't get attached to all of this/Life's the one thing that I can't make stick around/Don't get attached to consciousness/It'll only let you down.” How romantic.
Another notably soft piece on the album is “I Wanna Die in the Suburbs.” Leavins serenades us with dreams of dying in good company in some quiet hamlet of suburbia behind a white picket fence. Contrast this sappy song with “Fine Dining.” Something of a modern “Mr. Brightside,” this piece tells the dramatic tale of a paranoid lover. Upbeat and danceable with the perfect measure of angst that Brigitte Calls Me Baby has down pat. “Pink Palace,” “Too Easy,” and “We Were Never Alive” finish off the band’s first album, each endowed with the band’s telltale Smiths-Strokes flare, and, of course, the je ne sais quoi that makes Brigitte Calls Me Baby the rock renaissance that it is.
Brigitte Calls Me Baby is for the classic rockers, the indie-sleezers, the pin-uppers, the contras, the lovers of smooth, smooth runs and big hair. It’s for the people who like to fantasize about the beautiful and the lovely and the frightening and the gruesome and the depressing. Whether you’re in love or losing faith in it, Brigitte Calls Me Baby has got you. I hope you give the group a listen, and I’ll leave you with these words: “If everything was plain to see/Falling in love would be too easy.”
edited by Greta Irvine.
artwork by Eliana Schiller.
