Discography

Let's Get Lucid

Let's Get Lucid
Listen now on Bandcamp SoundCloud

2023

  1. Smoking With The Devil/Learn To Entertain Yourselves 20:19
  2. Radical 09:52
  3. Going Home 08:33
  4. Radical (Instrumental Mix) 09:05
  5. Going Home (Vocal Mix) 06:41

BABAL’s latest album release is perhaps their most fluid and fearless yet.

Their 9 th album “Let’s Get Lucid” explores encounters with alter-egos and inner conflicting personalities in some beautifully flowing “songs”.

The reality is that these songs have evolved from BABAL improvisations, strong with the sense of foreboding and eclectic themes which BABAL have made their trademark.

Opening track “Smoking With The Devil” affords a great introduction from Rob Williams and Jon Sharp before Karen Langley confides in husky tones “I’ve Been Smoking with the Devil” and leads us through the strange mazes of addictive behaviours and also the pain of living to conformist values. A bluesy epic of a song that sticks in the mind.

The track segues into the next piece “Learn to Entertain Yourselves”, a bittersweet invitation to get out of your techno-head and “step outside onto the wet wet wet grass and let those neural highways pass you by for a while”. This track is a real mix of styles (in it’s favour) with certain whimsical characteristics, hardening into some great circus-style rhythms from Jon, flushed out by Rob’s intricate guitar harmonies and synth patterns.

On then to “Radical”, the single from the album. “Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year , how long do I have to sit here? I wanna be radical” opines Karen in world-weary mode at the start. She takes us into her world of the outsider, coping with the demands and commands of the corporate business world.

Its’ jazz feel really works as Rob and Jon pull the song forward into a frenzied rush, matching Karens’ post-punk angst admirably. “When do you stop being radical?”, Karen poses the question in many forms.

A song that comes from a need to self-empower after years of political misrule.

A complete change for the last track “Going Home”; (though there are two instrumental versions of “Radical” and “Going Home” as extras after this last song.) Lush melancholic vocals form the heart of this song, accompanied by beautiful plangent synth and guitar. Karen encapsulates feelings of loss, grief , hope and resurrection in this piece, which was written by the sea, post cancer. Rhapsodic and full of yearning, a finely tuned ending to “Let’s get Lucid” from BABAL.

Life Is Always In the Wild

WHo will I be when I leave?
Listen now on Bandcamp SoundCloud

2023

  1. ZOMBIE DIARY 08:50
  2. 3 MINUTES 07:33
  3. ISIS 07:33
  4. TRUTH IS AN OPEN SKY 07:36
  5. LIFE IS ALWAYS IN THE WILD 05:32
  6. VOLUNTEERS 11:38

Who Will I Be When I Leave?

WHo will I be when I leave?

2022

  1. 3 Minutes (7.12)
  2. Sitting Pretty (6.54)
  3. Corkscrew Rider (8.22)
  4. Dead End Friends (4.35)
  5. The Wolf Slips Up Quickly (6.17)
  6. Made Without Instructions (5.00)
  7. Baby Wants Freedom (7.59)
  8. Doors (12.10)
  9. Who Will I Be When I Leave? (3.52)

A fantasy ride through the average life; who really knows if we are living the life we intended? Or are we still waiting for someone else to tell us what to do or control the ride? Inspired by Ouspensky’s “Strange Life of Ivan Osokin”, Corkscrew Rider is a bluesy, hypnotic confessional, culminating in a manic rant against waste and greed…….”If I had my life to live over again….” Well, what would you do?

The track, "Corkcscrew Rider" is the first single off their forthcoming album WHO WILL I BE WHEN I LEAVE? and will be released Tuesday August 16th. About the song, Karen explains: “If I could live my life to live again… ..well, what do you think”? I’m sure Karen you’ll do it all over again leaving the worst behind. She says: I was inspired to write 'Corkscrew Rider' by Ouspensky's "The Strange Life of Ivan Osokin" in which our hero makes a Faustian pact to live his life over again and change things. He repeats every single mistake. I felt a resonance with that: our lives are a fantasy ride of successes, failures, events, and non- events. No one can tell us what to do, and the more we look outside ourselves, the less we find. 'Corkscrew Rider' is a bluesy, hypnotic confessional, culminating in a passionate rant against waste, greed, and delusion. Enjoy the ride! We will very much indeed Karen! 'Corkscrew Rider' It's majestic, orchestral. It's Third Ear Band on acid meet classic King Crimson. A song pervaded by prog folk rock feels with trippy glowing sensations. LONDON CALLING – SHADES OF ROCK – MIMMO CACCOMO

Babal (profilprog.com) - in French, scroll down for translation button.

Babal Interview – Rob Williams and Karen Langley -“Who Will I Be When I Leave?” | Progressive Rock Central.com - video review of the album with Rob and Karen

[Interview] Exclusive interview with Babal (progrockjournal.com)

[Review] Babal - Who Will I Be When I Leave? (progrockjournal.com)

Music Street Journal - Music News & Reviews

BABAL Who Will I Be When I Leave reviews (progarchives.com)

Buy Me An Acre Of Land

Buy me an acre of land
Buy Now on Bandcamp

2021

  1. Buy me an acre of land

From: Plenirockium
Hey, I wanna experience the big everything
the big top and the great abyss, not miss one thing
Hey, I wanna experience the big everything
how it feels to be tall, flowing through the bodies,
warm and singing

Zombie Diary

Dreams for the imaginary puppet shows on the radio
Listen now on Bandcamp SoundCloud

2021

  1. Zombie Diary

From: Bandcamp
A song highlighting the perils of succumbing to the hellish narcotic seduction of letting go of all the stresses and terrors of life in attempting to make them disappear through massive sedation – whether it’s through pills, booze and the dumbing down of the senses through media manipulation.

We wanted to give this to people as a free download as it is very much NOW and is hot off the hellish BABAL press – recorded as one take in a moment of inspiration. (Recorded June 28 2021).

Spirit In A Meat Suit

Dreams for the imaginary puppet shows on the radio
Buy Now on Bandcamp

2021

  1. Puss in boots
  2. Spirit in a meat suit
  3. Heroes
  4. Dead centre video
  5. Never play golf on Sunday
  6. ISIS
  7. Void
  8. Kraken Kommandant
  9. Remember the dead
  10. Through hardship to the stars

From: Bandcamp
And so into 2021 with BABAL and the completion of the “CIRCLE OF CONFUSION OF TONGUES” series.
Cancer, Covid and Conservatism impacted the band in no small ways; these massive life-changing events notwithstanding, BABAL have produced an incredible lockdown legacy of words, music and rhythms of ferocious tenacity.
Fired by the sheer will to survive, tempered with the faith in Universal chaos and balance, BABAL make each song an epiphanic journey across illness, narcissism, money culture and authentic living in the face of either shit or sugar.
KAREN LANGLEY’s vocals and arrangements are focussed, yet refuse rigidity; the flow of her unique style is celebrated in this album, one that she admits she thought would remain unfinished.
ROB WILLIAM’s guitars and musical composition are at their most eloquent; his undaunted determination throughout Karen’s’, and his own cancers became a spiritual mission to carefully sew together a divine collaboration and produce something so much bigger than those 3 big C’s.
JON SHARP,as ever, refines and pulls together the pieces as the third, long time rhythmic powerhouse of the power of 3.
“The liberation I feel from producing this work has literally been phenomenal”, says Karen “sometimes I couldn’t do any work for months and sometimes neither could Rob. We were like a musical see-saw; each helping the other go up if the other was down. I’m really happy with the result, we all are – it’s been well worth the persistence”

Pre Release date - March 16th 2021

Release date – March 26th 2021

SPIRIT IN A MEAT SUIT | BABAL (bandcamp.com)
Prog Archive review by Kev Rowland.
Review by Carnival Records.
Lee Henderson of Big Beautiful Noise reviews Babal's 'Spirit In A Meat Suit.

Dreams For Imaginary Puppet Shows On The Radio

Dreams for the imaginary puppet shows on the radio
Buy Now on Bandcamp

2020

  1. Gundy
  2. Crow Boy
  3. Shall Not Fade Into The Night
  4. Bunker 1A
  5. Hoggot Time
  6. Waterhole
  7. Void
  8. Ahab's Promise
  9. Dark City
  10. Scorpion Master
  11. Nightfalls
  12. Noir
  13. Yog Shoggoth Absorbs L.A.

From: MRR Music
Melodic Revolution Records is thrilled to announce the release of “Dreams for Imaginary Puppet Shows on the Radio” by UK Psych/art-rock band BABAL. This is the band’s 6 th studio album and the follow up to Hellish Interlude – a very limited-edition custom USB.

In 2019 BABAL had to cease performing and recording. Vocalist and writer Karen Langley had stage 4 cancer requiring many chemotherapy sessions and a stem cell transplant; she is now thankfully in remission.

Karen was unable to sing during that year so we wrote lots of instrumental tracks, visualising them as puppet shows on the radio!!, while others could possibly be destined as re-arranged tunes with vocals in the future.

Then along came Covid 19……….

The third part of The Circle of Confusion of Tongues trilogy, “(I’m Just A) Spirit in A Meat Suit” has been delayed as we are mixing and mastering remotely which takes time. We plan to release the album later this year.

The music on Dreams for Imaginary Puppet Shows on The Radio reveal the different yet identifiable and distinctive sound of Karen Langley (voice/devices), Rob Williams (guitar, guitar synth, bass) and Jon Sharp (drums) – BABAL. This is BABAL’s sixth album – the desire to never stay in one musical place too long remains a constant with the band.

The concept of a puppet show on the radio threw us a few imaginative curves and strange angles when thinking about, and improvising the music.

Along with the track titles each piece has a “dream” concept portraying possible scenes in the puppet show, described in a dark and Lovecraftian manner – or you may choose to visualise your own Puppet Show on the Radio – let us know where it takes you! There will be a prize….

Here are a few examples:

Track 4. Bunker 1A “The sirens cry out in the vile depths of the hellish metropolis – the cries of the lost and the yells of epiphany. They cavort and wail to hellish pipings and bongos”

Track 7. Void “She wanted to rise above the dimensions of mundanity, to drink deep of the nectar of the cosmos. As her body became lighter, the winds of the universe took her far into her beyond”

Track 8. Ahab’s Promise “Stiff and twitching, Ahab raised himself from his tattered cot. The universe was beckoning with it’s benign smile so he staggered on into the hellish night on raggetty stick legs – leaving behind the relentless rot and canker of his demented obsession”

Track 11. Nightfalls “Lost in the vast world of fluid – a viscous and languid ambivalence slipped into the hellish concept of what he was becoming – sinking into the stinking depths of his tattered and eviscerated soul” The album will be released on green vinyl style CD in a record style sleeve with an outer 4 page gatefold sleeve (MRRCD 22193) and download.

Pre orders from 14 August 2020 and release date of 21 August 2020 on Melodic Revolution Records.
Prog Archives Review
Big Beautiful Noise Review

Frank's Lament (EP)

Frank's Lament (EP)
Buy Now on Bandcamp

2020

  1. Frank's Lament
  2. The Axe
  3. Bones & Blood (new version)
  4. Endless Re-Run Society (live)

Releases January 16, 2020

Written and produced by Karen Langley and Rob Williams Endless Re-Run Society – live recording by Vic Curtis . Recorded at the Bread & Circuses show, Brewery Arts Centre, Cirencester, 30 November 2013 (In memory of John Drummond) Engineered and mastered by Martin Nichols at The White House , Kewstoke, nr Bristol.
Karen Langley – Vocals. Arrangements
Rob Williams – Guitars. Synthesis
Jon Sharp – Drums
Guest musicians:
The Axe:
Zoie Green – Synthesisers

Endless Re-Run Society:
Paul Smith – Bass
Eric Hej – Percussion
Front cover art: Paul Kopal
Back cover photo by Rob Williams (Headshots by Karen Langley)
Insert Art – Andy White
Head shots – Karen Langley-Harry Collison, Rob Williams- Karen Langley , Jon Sharp - Keith Eglon
Cover coordinator – Ralph Titley (the Funky Bunker, Malvern)

Thanks to Nick Katona and the crew of MRR Records for believing in us.

Big thanks to Marc C Nelson, Javier Mejias, Rebecca Avalar, Rachel Armour, Peter Skov, Jeannie Mattone, Chris Heard, Paul Giblin, Lee Henderson, Martyn Hasbeen, Shaun Histed-Todd, Harry Collison, Keith Eglon, Michael Laws, Chris Gill, Mario Champagne, Robert Brady, Barry Mart, Zoie Green, Ben Balsom


From: Facebook

BABAL – “FRANK’S LAMENT” EP Review

Part 2c of “The Circle of Confusion of Tongues” trilogy

Melodic Revolution Records on Vinyl (MRR-LP-010), CD (MRRCD 22181) and Digital
(Pre –Release orders from 16 December 2019.
Released 16 January 2020)

For sheer contrast of tone and rhythms, BABAL have pulled off a wonderfully lyrical, yet progressive collection of tunes on this, their latest EP. It’s easy toforget that Karen Langley’s versatility as a vocalist stretches from high-strung belt out avant-garde imagery to the mix we have here of poignancy and rich,lush,satin quality vocalese.

Let’s start with “Bones and Blood Rise up”. The juxtaposition of jazz rhythms featuring Jon Sharp’s exacting time signatures blends into full harmonic convergence with a great, grounded bass and guitar/synth patterns from the skilful Rob Williams.

Flattery for the half-time, slightly dragging vocal of fragile beauty from Karen – more like lace patterns around the wedding cake, embroidering a powerful central force. But this cake isn’t very sweet and promises some Miss Faversham moments; “take my hand and come to the lonely places, where the poor feed and grieve, take my hand and come”.

This is truly a tale of 21 st Century Britain, couched in a jazz-folk polyrhythmic language that crosses the continents. Unusual, unsettling and by the time you get to the final chorus “Do you stop to think how you behave affects us? Do you have thicker skin, one that can’t protect us?” the chilling ex-machina delivery of Karen, underpinned by the mournful, lounging guitar of Rob, leaves a sad twist to a beautifully executed tale of imminent rebellion.

Onto “Frank’s Lament” and from the opening sedate and powerful chords and completely off-kilter vocals, we know we are in for a somewhat different ride. Language and mood hold all the keys in this piece; flurries of wonderful synth oboe and orchestrations abound, illustrating and complementing the fabulous dips and dives of Karen’s outrageously over-prog vocal that borrows angst from Lotte Lenya, Kurt Weil, Dietrich and Nico, amongst others.

But none of those really nails the unique sound and vocal quality that Karen produces on this track. It’s a gorgeous journey as Frank finds he has one foot in the real world and his head floating in the ether. He has put the ladder against the wall and is ready to climb over the top to salvation. Robs guitars draw him up and we go with him, off into the sunset.

“Frank’s Lament” is a mega-prog track of lushness, with vignettes of intricacy and lightness. Three-quarters of the way through you are suddenly pitched into a darker place – never expect a commonplace dream or nightmare in a BABAL track; Frank has mood swings.

Entirely different territory for “The Axe”, a plangent folk fable of almost medieval brutality. Karen lulls us into a mysteriously dark description of violence in the forest; who has the axe? What was the crime? Slow, rhythmic drums and music build as the voice progresses, coming right down again to a menacing whispered warning at the end of the song; “Talk quietly, but carry a big stick....” An entrancing oddity pulsing with a dark underbelly.

One of the favourites on this EP has to be “Endless Re-run” – maybe it’s the track that epitomises the BABAL world-glance at its most acerbic and zany. “What do we want? We want what we had” is the opening line, and Karen proceeds to whirl us through a broken Britain that has an almost innocent desire (initially) to destroy itself with pleasure and addiction.

As sharp guitars change the backdrop, the story changes, giving vent to the inequalities of the endless re-run society that will always be there to pick up the pieces. Where no-one really cares about you unless yo uhave money – again, Karen recalls a Brechtian view of a community lost in its inability to value anything beyond cash, property and addictive lifestyles. And yet it is funny! It bubbles along with hellish guitars and great rhythms – this world has life and refuses to be squashed! The manicness and elitist madness flows through the song, leaving you excited and exhausted. A stand-out track.

But maybe “Frank’s Lament” is the track that will introduce a whole new audience to BABAL’s unique take on the musical story-telling world they inhabit. It would be an invitation worth taking up and maybe a new classification of cross-over genre music could be said to be “Babalesque”; no label, just music. Switch into whichever gear tells the story best – and expect some beautiful music from the centre of the heart.

Kit Pallanto. November 2019

From: Facebook

Here is our review of the new Babal EP, Frank’s Lament:

It seems fitting, prescient even, that Babal have timed their new release to mark the start of an unchartered period in our collective experience as a nation.

They’re good at getting the mood music right, are Babal, always chiming with the sentiment of the moment.

Like all true artists they act as a kind of existential vessel for the zeitgeist - able to transmit the angst and dread felt by a large chunk of the people, thanks to the off-kilter tone of their music and the tragi-comic intensity of their message, tempered with a sharp sense of the absurd.

Which brings us to Frank’s Lament, the gloriously caustic new four-track EP by Karen Langley and Rob Williams, featuring Jon Sharp on drums and guests including the venerated Eric Hej (percussion).

The eponymous track is vintage Babal; a sombre meditation over soaring synths and wintry orchestrations, Syd Barrett-esque in parts, charting the life of a man out of sorts: ‘Frank was pulled back to earth to feel his feet upon it - which never felt right to him’.

Amid a liquid funk backdrop, the nine-minute epic recalls the narrative of John Cale’s The Gift, while its fragmented melancholy and some seriously Bedouin guitar lines build to mirror Heroes-era Bowie.

Ultimately - thankfully - Frank’s Lament ends on a note of hope and redemption: ‘And the light that comes from his eyes will pour from the unlocked door of his heart’.

Second track The Axe is sonically bleak and as cutting as its title might suggest, while an enhanced recording of Bones & Blood (Rise Up) showcases Williams’ elegant, dextrous playing.

The Middle Eastern desert vibe returns on a celebratory live take of Endless Re-Run Society, with Hej at the heart of its dense layered sound, and Langley is given free rein to unleash her full-on consumer-capitalist critique, lambasting the ‘over-fed, over-entertained, maxed out on desire, and retching on silk cushions’. Adele, take note.

The record comes exquisitely packaged, with artworks by Paul Kopal and Andy White, and its spirit is singularly, distinctly, uniquely that of the rabble-rousing Babal - never complacent, always on the case.

Chris Heard

* Frank’s Lament EP is part 2c of The Circle of Confusion of Tongues trilogy, released on Melodic Revolution Records.

The Big Everything - EP

2019

  1. The Big Everything
  2. Beggards To Chance

And the tongues listen...
Part 2B of BABAL’s “The Circle of Confusion of Tongues” trilogy moves into epic musical territory with the EP, “The Big Everything/ Beggars to Chance”. (total running time 28:24)
To be released on February 28th on limited edition (75) numbered CD (MRRCD-22166) and download - with pre sales beginning on 28 January
“The Big Everything” begins with a bluesy/jazz invitation to experience the grand design of a life imagined. Shifting moods and musical motifs smoothly, this track winds along a tale of desire, yearning and soul-searching.
At times the piece is almost medieval in tone and colour, moving out towards a dark folk-tale ending. Progressive, cinematic and deeply seductive, this piece links specifically to “The Glacier” track from last years’ EP (Part 2A)

music and lyrics - Rob Williams and Karen Langley
BABAL:
Karen Langley - Vocals, lyrics, arrangements
Rob Williams - Guitars/synthesis
Jon Sharp - Drums

Guest artistes:
Paul Smith - Bass on "The Big Everything"

Zoie Green - Keyboards on "Beggars To Chance"
Ben Balsom - Bass on "Beggars To Chance"


From: Bandcamp
“Beggars to Chance” is a protest and survive song – backed by tight rhythmic drums, bass, keyboards and guitar synths/solos.
The plaintive call to arms speaks of dying to life and living in the moment – recurring lyrical themes for Karen Langley in this trilogy.
The beautiful psychedelic art of Andy White graces this EP, together with the intense, avant garde artwork of Paul Kopal; all pieced together by the skilful Rachel Armour.
Digested description; A tempestuous Babal-Noir trip; hard-boiled bedlam mixed with transcendental corridors of communication. Musically inventive and arranged and produced with passionate intensity.
“Here we go, here we go, here we go...”
Available in very limited numbered CD (75) -MRRCD- 22166 and digital formats...
A full length video of The Big Everything will also be available
The CD comes with a A4 colour print of the "face melt"cover art and an individual unique surprise too from the Babalonians!

released February 28, 2019

Carnival Records Review of 'The Big Everything' on Facebook.
The quintessential Babal come to the surface once more on The Big Everything, a 20-minute epic that frames Karen’s transatlantic alter-ego Mimi Vogel in an expansive widescreen narrative - “I wanna experience... the big top and the great abyss” - pitched against dissonant notes, choppy breakbeats and a flurry of ‘70s synths.


Liquid Sunshine

Liquid sunshine
Buy Now on Bandcamp

2019

  1. Liquid Sunshine
    1. A) Sunshine Insertion
    2. B) Insertion Impact
    3. Sunshine Healing X

BABAL BELIEVE THAT MUSIC IS THE HEALING POWER OF THE UNIVERSE. DOWNLOAD "LIQUID SUNSHINE" FOR FREE , OUR GIFT TO HELP YOU DE-STRESS! TURN THE LIGHTS DOWN LOW AND ALLOW THE SUNSHINE TO FLOW THROUGH YOU. WE ALL NEED LOVE, LIGHT AND HEALING XXX


From: Bandcamp
This is an ambient piece of music which slowly evolves and moves through three stages - a) sunshine insertion, b) sunshine impact, c) sunshine healing x

The Glacier

2018

  1. The Involuntary Reflex Of The Terminal Bastard
  2. The Glacier
  3. Toffeetime

TRACKS WRITTEN AND ARRANGED BY KAREN LANGLEY & ROB WILLIAMS.
KAREN LANGLEY - VOCALS/LYRICS
ROB WILLIAMS - GUITARS/SYNTHESIS
JON SHARP - DRUMS


From: Bandcamp
Following on from the success of “The Circle of Confusion of Tongues”, BABAL give us a trio of tracks on their new EP, “The Glacier” that take us further into their stark, yet optimistic reality.

Opening track “The Involuntary Reflex of the terminal Bastard” gives Karen Langley the chance to throw all the toys out the pram with no hint of self-pity; a slow build of soulful rhythms, hooks and grooves underlines a morality tale of the modern narcissist – landlord, politician, parent, partner, sibling; the Bastard is a one-stop character who always has the upper hand – until you decide to stop catching the ball.

Title track and second play is the monstrous and gorgeous “The Glacier”. From the opening mournful bars of Sarana Verlins’s lovely violin, the mood is deep and heartbreaking – a track to get lost in as the metaphorical Glacier reflects the trials and tribulations of life; the unexamined life worth living.

A fabulous, climactic ending featuring Rob Williiams’ guitars, Jon Sharps’ drums, Ben Balsom’ bass and the haunting keys of Zoie Green, take this track to the iciest peaks of beauty and sadness, yet somehow drenches us in the promise of new beginnings.

Final track “Toffeetime” (a live favourite with BABAL fans) is a live studio jam (with added backing vocals by Karen) brings the full power of BABAL’S musical forces together and creates a brilliant dystopian tale of materialism. Shredded, squeezed and packaged into a painful realisation of the rotten drip-drip effect of modern first-world happiness and fake-culture.
Play this track LOUD and sink into the sweet filth of the abandoned toffee factory. You will then understand fully, and need new teeth of the Universe.....

Each EP will be numbered (limited edition 0f 50) and comes with an A5 poster of Paul Kopals’ EP artwork, plus an individual, hand-made art-note from BABAL in the best tradition of Dada.....

Artwork; Paul Kopal

Glacier photograph; Marinus Beers

All tracks mixed and mastered by Martin Nichols at Whitehouse, Bristol.

Getting it together stuff; Rachel Heard, friend and artist xx

On Melodic Revolution Records on CD (MRRCD 2156) and digital download (MRRDR 201163).



Bandcamp
MRR
Cdbay
Amazon
itunes

The Circle of Confusion of Tongues

2018

  1. Teeth of the universe
  2. Amanda
  3. He's Got the bends
  4. The crooked path
  5. Stolen Breath
  6. Monkey on my back
  7. The foot high guy
  8. Partakers
  9. Volunteers
  10. The great overwhelm
  11. Skating on the pond
  12. Block pave me over

All songs by Karen Langley and Rob Williams (BABAL)

From: Bandcamp
Babal have produced what is arguably their finest work to date. "The Circle of Confusion of Tongues" was released on April 18th 2018.

Unusual arrangements encase folklike tales spread across funky jazz plains, anthemic punk-rock style storyboards and bluesy hang-outs....

By turns, the manic angst and ethereal beauty of Karens vocals interweave with the exuberant layers of Robs skilful guitars. "The Circle of Confusion of Tongues" has a progressively rich rock sound enhanced by the brilliant drumming of electronic drum player Jon Sharp, the inventive bass playing of Ben Balsom and paul smith, and the beautiful backgrounds of Zoie Greens keyboards.

The pieces ride roughshod over bourgeois society and rip into 21st century fears of mortality and where the **** are we going with equal passion... Babal are wild entrepreneurs of the imagination providing a theatrical illustration of life each time they enter a studio or step on stage.

We live in strange times, and strange times call for challenging art that responds to the insecurity, paranoia and dread many of us are feeling as we try to make sense of our queasy political and cultural landscape.

Enter BABAL, then, to fulfil this role with an emphatic, sure-footed record that effortlessly captures the weariness of 2018’s uncertainties with a palette of comic-book horror, dissonant guitars, big drums, caustic wit and a healthy dose of Zappa-esque cynicism.

The Circle Of Confusion Of Tongues (the album’s title gives you a taste of the surrealness to follow) occupies a brooding, faintly unsettling space undercut with a savage humour that tempers the band’s mocking psychodramas.

— Chris Heard of Carnival Records

It often feels as if you’re stuck in a John Carpenter movie or one of those fevered nightmares with a killer clown whose presence you can’t escape. The tone is unnerving; disturbing; scary even.

At the same time BABAL’s characteristic macabre comedy is rarely far from the surface – if the world were a more just place, they would surely have written the music to BBC Two’s Inside No 9.

Densely textured, sonically rich and frantic with energy, the record’s expansive sound was honed over a year in the studio by the band’s two long-term mainstays, lyricist Karen Langley (vocals) and her axe-toting partner in crime Rob Williams (guitars and synths).

Between them they soak up influences like two malevolently grinning sponges, distilling a cinematic sensibility (European arthouse, Hollywood noir) with an agile musicality that encompasses art-rock posturing, Captain Beefheart, punk-funk polyrhythms and the occasional jazz/breakbeat flourish.

The affable Williams (aka Ming the mysterious) demonstrates his prog rock chops with flair; his artfully discordant playing/arranging putting this listener in mind of a Robert Fripp or Bill Nelson in their prime.

Williams’ easy virtuosity allows Langley free reign for her dystopian-Alice-in-Wonderland vision, which she executes with abandon.

In art as in life, singer Langley is a formidable and very human figure, reminding the more pompous and hubristic among us that we are but “spirits in meat-suits”, all trying to ride the train as best we can without falling off the tracks too often or publicly.

Compassionate yet sharp as a tack, she cuts right through the BS with her acerbic commentaries on life, love, class, commerce and consumerism, frequently adopting the persona of Mimi Vogel, her demonic transatlantic alter-ego (an acid-tongued amalgam of Cruella de Vil and Sunset Boulevard’s Norma Desmond).

It’s with her mischievous eye for the absurd that Langley launches into Teeth of The Universe, channelling Broken English-era Marianne Faithfull’s barely-concealed venom to a funked-up Grace Jones backdrop which showcases Williams’ dexterous fret work and Jon Sharp’s shuffling drum patterns.

The singer is at her most messianic on the withering Amanda, a trauma-infused Punch and Judy show from the bleaker side of town. Meanwhile, the jazz-tinged drum and bass of He’s Got The Bends could pass for the opening titles of a John Barry TV crime caper–gone-wrong.

The band unleash their inner Killing Joke on the full-on dark wave of The Crooked Path; while the backbone of the album - Monkey On My Back, The Foot High Guy, Partakers and The Great Overwhelm – proclaim the group’s versatility while affirming the discipline of their craft. Volunteers, with its call-to-arms for artistic justice, is especially strident: ‘We want to work/We wanna get paid/My life’s not a ticket/That I mislaid’.

By contrast, the haunting Stolen Breath is a rather tender work, with some pain palpable: ‘I stretched out my hand/It was dead on the table’. Likewise, Skating on the Pond is the most striking and musically austere moment; elegiac and sombre with its mournful Bach organ.

The essence of BABAL’s existential discontent comes together on the magnificent closing track Blockpave Me Over, with Langley’s potent spoken word a rallying cry to the moment. ‘You are now here!’, she implores, conjuring peak Patti Smith against Williams’ intricate, dazzling orchestration.

The Circle Of Confusion Of Tongues marks out BABAL as true psych-rock standard bearers in an age that is crying out for something a bit more articulate, a bit more angry. Soundtrack to a new Cold War, anyone?

— Chris Heard of Carnival Records

Glossolalia

The Glacier
Buy Now on Bandcamp

2018

  1. Mothermania
  2. Motorway bores
  3. The curse
  4. Dead meat
  5. Skin Canvas
  6. Succession to the soul
  7. Ray of sunshine
  8. Salvation
  9. The voice
  10. He's got the bends
  11. Requiem

Compilation of unreleased/rare tracks over the last 20 years
KAREN LANGLEY - VOCALS/SYNTHESIS
ROB WILLIAMS - GUITARS/SYNTHESIS
JON SHARP - DRUMS

GUEST MUSICIANS.
ZOIE GREEN - KEYBOARDS/BACKING VOX
BEN BALSOM - BASS
PAUL SMITH - BASS

From: Bandcamp
COVERING SOME OF THE MORE EXPERIMENTAL AND STRANGE TERRITORIES BABAL HAS EXPLORED OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS...

FROM A SOUNDSCAPE CREATED TO COVER AN INSTALLATION ON HERMAN MELVILLE'S" MOBY DICK" ("SUCCESSION TO THE SOUL" ) TO AN EXISTENTIAL POP SONG WHICH WAS THE BAND'S ONLY CRACK AT WORKING TO A DIRECTIVE (RAY OF SUNSHINE" - NOT TAKEN UP BY THE PITCHER... :-)

INCLUDING 2 TRACKS FROM THE BAND'S CURRENT LINE UP
(MOTHERMANIA" AND A LIVE REHEARSAL VERSION OF "HE'S GOT THE BENDS") ...

SOME OF THIS STUFF IS A LITTLE ODD BUT HOPEFULLY WONDERFUL IN IT'S OWN BABALONIAN WAY. 

The Shirt

The Shirt
Buy Now on Bandcamp

2017

  1. The Shirt

KAREN LANGLEY - VOCALS
ROB WILLIAMS - GUITARS/SYNTHESIS
JON SHARP - DRUMS
ZOIE GREEN - KEYBOARDS
BEN BALSOM - BASS

From: Bandcamp
ON OCT 15TH WE RECORDED 12 IMPROS
THIS IS THE FIRST ROUGH MIX OF ONE OF THEM AND MAY WELL APPEAR AS AN EXTRA SET OF OUTAKES ETC THAT WILL COME WITH FIRST ORDERS OF OUR NEXT ALBUM "THE CIRCLE OF CONFUSION OF TONGUES " - BUT THEN AGAIN IT MIGHT NOT.
I LOVE THIS ONE - REMINDS ME A BIT OF THE RESIDENTS IN ITS'S TONALITY (ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE ARTISTS).

HAVE A NICE LIFE .

The flywheel of life

The flywheel of life
Buy Now on Bandcamp

2017

  1. The flywheel of life

Karen Langley - Vocals
Rob Williams - Guitar/Synthesis
Copyright: Karen Langley/Rob Williams
Recorded at BABAL KASTEL March 2017

From: Bandcamp
3RD IN OUR SERIES OF OUTTAKES

"CHARISMATA"

WHILE IN THE THROES OF RECORDING OUR NEW ALBUM "THE CIRCLE OF CONFUSION OF TONGUES".

HIT THE BUTTON FOR A BIT OF HELLISHNESS.

X

Body cathedrals

The Game
Buy Now on Bandcamp

2017

  1. Body cathedrals

Karen Langley - Vocals
Rob Williams - guitar/synthesis


From: Bandcamp

BEING OUT OF THE BODY IS THE ONLY WAY TO FIND WHO YOU ARE!
SOMETIMES I HAVE NO HEAD, OR MY LEGS, HAVE BECOME LIKE A ZEBRA'S;
I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I AM LOOKING OUT FROM MY EYES ANYMORE!
ENJOY THE CHANGE FROM SOLID TO INFINITE, ELONGATE THE NOTES AND RELAX...

(Mimi Vogel)


The Game

The Game
Buy Now on Bandcamp

2017

  1. The Game

Karen Langley - Vocals


From: Bandcamp

Saving herself when no one else can save her,
A woman of temperance avoids her doom
Ready to dive in and
Swim under the pack ice,
Taking a leviathan breath,
Where is the way out?
The emerging freedom?


(Mimi Vogel)


Singular adventures in post-modern capitalist society

Singular adventures in post-modern capitalist society
Buy Now on Bandcamp

2016

  1. Toffeetime (Alt studio live mix)
  2. The brocken
  3. The lorelei
  4. Speed (remix)
  5. Weather
  6. Sobriety
  7. Buy me an acre of land

From: Bandcamp

From the opening Psychedelic journey through Toffeetime (a studio jam turned sticky and stretchy), we go to the Witches night on the mountain with "The Brocken", then past sirens sweetly singing in "The Lorelei", bashing and crashing into a studio re-mix of "Speed" (Alex Daw navigating crazily on hair-pin bends and zipping into oil-slicks on the straights); then a most sultry and meteorological mapping of "Weather" (which incarnated at Carnival Records, Malvern courtyard( thanks Chris Heard , two summers ago); then it's onto the wagon with "Sobriety" (thanks Ted Marshall) ending with a plangent ballad of landlack amongst the working class "Buy me an Acre of Land".

Not your average CD by any standard! All we ask is that you open your mind and ears and go into the rabbithole with us...

Happy Listening xxxx (also comes with a DVD; "The Lorelei", "What Shall we Do?" (live at The Fleece),"Sobriety"; "Toffeetime"(Live at Sonic Rock Solstice,thanks Dave Roberts); "Lockstep" (filmed/edited by Tom Lee Rutter,; "Speed", "Selling Spontaneity/Endless Re-Run Society" (live at The Fleece); and Endless Re-Run Society (film version).

Plus extras featuring Mimi VogelThanks also to Harry Collison for the amazing photography,and Haris Roussos, for the skilful layout and typography.

Love love and love xxx


Hanging in the balance

Hanging in the balance
Buy Now on Bandcamp

2015

  1. Speed
  2. Money never stop
  3. Lockstep
  4. Selling spontaneity

Karen Langley - vocals/arrangements/lyrics
Rob Williams - guitar/synthesis
Jon Sharp - drums
Paul Smith - bass
Craigus Barry - guitar

From: Music Industry News Network
British art rock band Babal released their Hanging In The Balance EP March 3, their label Dgenerate Records announced today.

This release marks Babal's debut on a US record label. The band, led by guitarist Rob Williams and vocalist Karen Langley, are currently in the UK shooting videos for the EP's socially-charged music.

“What makes this release impressive is the band's creative evolution,” label chief Michael Jones said. “They've created a unique style that captures their rage against the status quo.”

The EP features the hard-driving “Speed,” the music business critique, “Selling Spontaneity,” and the dark, miltary-style “Lockstep.”

The band's new album is due out in late 2015, also on Dgenerate.

BABAL Live at Sonic Rock Solstice 2015

BABAL Live at Sonic Rock Solstice 2015
Buy Now on Bandcamp

2015

  1. Toffeetime
  2. Lockstep
  3. Speed
  4. Block pave me over

Recorded live at the Sonic Rock Solstice 20 June 2015.
Live mix - Daevid Galaghre
Lighting - Zenjen
Stage Management - Snake
Video - Dave Roberts
Live Recording - Pete Wibrew
Special thanks to Martyn Hasbeen xx
Post mixdown - Rob Williams & Karen Langley
Engineered and mastered by Martin Nicholls at The White House
Photography: Al Jones/ Harry Collison

From: Bandcamp
BABAL are:

Karen Langley - vocals
Rob Williams - guitar/synthesis
Alice the Worker - mime
Declan Sharma - bass

Jon Sharp - drums

Bread and Circuses

Bread and circuses
Buy Now on Bandcamp

2012

  1. The divine discontent
  2. Down in the dark wood
  3. The last tree spirit
  4. Psychiatry
  5. Vortex
  6. Crows
  7. Yeah sure no problem
  8. Tied to the machine
  9. Lady of the wild things
  10. Touched by angels

Karen Langley - vocals
Rob Williams - guitar/synthesis
Jon Sharp - Drums
Paul Smith - Bass
Ed Steelefox - Junk percussion

All songs by Karen Langley and Rob Williams

From: NeuFur
Tied To The Machine is a funky bit of electronic-infused rock, ensuring to please fans of acts as disparate as Nine Inch Nails and Siouxsie and the Banshees. There is a certain tribal element that further fleshes out this effort; Babble creates a track that crosses easily across thirty years of gothic-tinged music. Yeah Sure No Problem allows the tribal element to become dominant, allowing for a world music flair to dominate. The narration presented by the lead singer is reminiscent of The Doors, Alice Cooper and Joe’s Garage-era Zappa. Yeah Sure No Problem is a special track, as Babble is able to utilize two vocals to great effect.

Psychiatry is a track that has a desert rock meets hippie feel; the introductory sound of the band is further varied with the scintillating and shifting instrumentation that flitters at the track’s higher registers. Down in the Dark Woods will show listeners that Babble is an eclectic band, free to change their sound on a dime. Where many albums tend to focus on a specific range of styles and approaches, Babble are able to keep things fresh and fun. What the band does on their Bread and Circuses album is create an immersive environment that will stand up to repeated listens. Down in the Dark Woods is great as it unites the constituent elements of Bread and Circuses into one fulfilling and catchy effort.

Bread and Circuses is an innovative album, touching upon a wide variety of styles and influences. Make sure to check out Babble’s website for more information about the collaborative project Bread and Circuses show and other Babble gigs. Reverbnation

Top Tracks: Tied To The Machine, Yeah Sure No Problem

Rating: 8.7/10

Art rock band BABBLE and artist JOHN TAYLOR have joined together for this art rock project , BREAD & CIRCUSES: creating an audio visual reaction to our increasingly dire socio-political situation. Musically this project is successful in its lyrically surreal representation of the themes. Karen Langley is a revelation on vocals, applying equal measures of authority and seduction while an eclectic mix of rock, indie and pop plays behind her. Rob Williams' guitar work equally impresses: providing gentle melodies one second and then cutting through with a fuzzed out riff; when combined with Langley's spoken word parts the album peaks, becoming everything it wants to be. "Psychiatry" show a debt to The Velvet Underground, but this is never exclusive; instead this is mixed with a series of influences like Talking Heads, modified into BABBLE's increasingly eccentric sound. One of the most interesting releases in recent memory.

— Mathew Tilt, SLAP Magazine (Nov 01, 2012)