Chicago band Brigitte Calls Me Baby is back with sophomore album ‘Irreversible’
When Brigitte Bardot died last year, it’s almost like Wes Leavins knew it was coming. The singer of Chicago indie rock band Brigitte Calls Me Baby (a name inspired by his brief pen pal relationship with the French icon) had spent months ruminating about death, existentialism and what we do with the time we have left.
“I find it to be a topic that’s on my mind a lot: loss and impermanence. There’s a fear that I have of death. And writing about it or getting close to it, without actually getting close to it, is maybe some kind of way to cope,” he said, with all of his looming thoughts influencing the material of the band’s sophomore album, “Irreversible” (out March 13 on ATO Records). Listening to dreamy retro pop songs like “The Pit,” “I Can't Have You All To Myself” and “Send Those Memories,” it’s palpable as Leavins’ powerful croon waxes about the subject with heavy introspection.
The songs were largely written on the road last year while the band (also including guitarist Jack Fluegel, bassist Devin Wessels and drummer Jeremy Benshish) was carrying on a relentless touring schedule. And after sound checks, Leavins would visit local graveyards on tour stops as a form of “exposure therapy.” Another form came in the macabre tattoos he has of an electric chair and the license plate of the Porsche that James Dean died in more than 70 years ago.
“I think there’s just a kind of fascination with these things for me,” he said. “But also with the tattoos, I just thought, well, I don't really want to give myself a chance to ever become like an office guy or have any other job than this,” he added.
With Brigitte Calls Me Baby’s growing profile, he hasn’t had to worry about that. Since moving to Chicago from Port Arthur, Texas in 2020 with a dream of establishing a band in the music metropolis, Brigitte Calls Me Baby has quickly ascended, capitalizing on a curious interest in their retro-rock sound that coos like the newborn baby of New Order, The Killers, The Smiths and The Cars. After a showcase at SXSW in 2023, the band was quickly signed to tastemaker label ATO Records (also home to Alabama Shakes, The Black Pumas, My Morning Jacket and Chicago artists like Friko and Neal Francis), which put out their Dave Cobb-helmed EP “This House Is Made of Corners” in 2023 followed by debut album “The Future Is Our Way Out” in 2024.
Locally, Q101 and WXRT were playing tunes like “Impressively Average” at warp speed as stations around the country like WXPN in Philadelphia and KCRW in L.A. tuned in, too. “I think that's unmistakably the moment when things changed,” said Leavins of the constant radio rotations. “That’s when people really started showing up to the gigs.” Soon after, there were invites to “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” “CBS Saturday Morning,” Lollapalooza and All Points East as well as tour dates with Muse, Inhaler and Fontaines D.C.
In that time, Leavins has also reached rock star status. Not only is he rumored to be dating Aimee Osbourne, but fans now also have tattoos — of him. “That’s been pretty mind-blowing,” he said of the permanent dedications. He’s so busy living “the life” that he doesn’t even have how own place in Chicago, opting for Airbnbs any time he’s back in town, which will be in April for two sold-out shows at Thalia Hall. “I kind of enjoy that because I love different neighborhoods,” he said. “I love Logan Square, Lincoln Square, Lincoln Park, and it gives me a chance to be in all of them.”
Much of the cross-generational interest with Brigitte Calls Me Baby has swirled around his impeccable voice and throwback look that carries touchpoints of Roy Orbison, Elvis and Morrissey (whom the band opened for in a short U.K. run last year) and has been cultivated via unique opportunities. As he was graduating high school in 2016, Leavins got the chance of a lifetime to leave Port Arthur (also the birthplace of Janis Joplin) and take a gig in a touring cast of “Million Dollar Quartet” as Elvis. Baz Luhrmann caught wind of it, and offered the singer the chance to record songs for his 2022 “Elvis” biopic, too.
“I would definitely be open to moving into some film stuff again. And certainly with the band as well, like music for film,” said Leavins. “I think that would be really rewarding and hopefully we may find our way there in the future.”
For now, the band is intent on continuing to find its groove with “Irreversible.” While songs like the first single “Slumber Party” is classic Brigitte Calls Me Baby, there’s also some more experimentation happening on “These Acts of Which We’re Designed” that offers more futuristic electro vibes.
It stemmed from sessions with a new production team this time around, with brothers Yves and Lawrence Rothman who’ve worked with Blondshell and Yves Tumors, among others. Working with the duo gave the band more “momentum,” said Leavins, adding, “There are few things more inspiring than seeing that things are actually working.”
It’s a positive spin that he hopes listeners get out of the album, too.
“I think a lot of the songs, as kind of gloomy as they can seem initially, they have hope. … It’s all about finding some kind of acceptance and a way forward.”