From a humble acorn of lo-fi, catalogue-shop keyboard beats to the mighty oak of sweeping, cinematic strings and multi-part harmonies, the evergreen Sweet Baboo returns with blooming single, Horticulture, the third to be harvested from his upcoming, seventh album, The Wreckage. From root to stem to leaf a respectful hymn to every house plant he’s successfully seen from life on a windowsill to death in a soily grave, whimsy and cynicism sit on each other’s knees as the multi-instrumentalist observes life’s too easily overlooked truths.

Set for release on his own Amazing Tapes From Canton label on Fri 27 January 2023, The Wreckage is to be accompanied by an extensive 2023 UK Tour, starting in Birkenhead (15 Feb 23) before winding its way through London (22 Feb 23), Manchester (1 Mar 23) and Cardiff (18 Mar 23) before the 21-dates conclude in Nottingham (25 Mar 23).

Having already released Hopeless and the H Hawkline-penned Good Luck from the album, his first in five years, Sweet Baboo – also known as Cardiff-based Stephen Black – follows the feint outline of previous albums, including 2013’s ‘hit’ album Ships and more recent, acclaimed long-players, Boombox Ballads and Wild Imagination, where the quaint, absurd, heartfelt and humdrum each get their moment in song. Frequently more than one at the same time. In writing a song for the houseplants whose lives could not be saved, Black finally says the words he’s long been wanting to sing to the planted, potted and, often inevitably, composted.

Established within a mutually supportive, collaborative community of artists operating in and outside Wales, touring as a member of Gruff Rhys and Cate Le Bon’s bands in recent years, Black brought together Boy Azooga’s Davey Newington on drums, his Group Listening band mate, Paul Jones on synths and BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-nominated singer-songwriter, Georgia Ruth on vocals for the recording of Horticulture.

Clarifying that not all of the plants in his life failed to survive his oversight, Black says: “’Horticulture’ was a song that had been running around my brain for a good few years. I must have changed the words to the chorus about four or five times. It’s a song about my love of and, sometimes, failure to keep the house plants alive but also a note to self to keep fit and healthy.”

Video producer, Pete Ingo, creating the track’s enigmatic visuals, said: “’Horticulture’, for me, is a song about love, tenderness and a perseverance. I wanted to make a visual that reflected this. Sweet Baboo’s music has always had that ‘domestique magique’ running through to its core and I wanted the characters in the video to be the embodiment of this… but turned up to 11… slowly… and a cat.”

Offering a communal experience in which the Sweet Baboo back catalogue and new music, plus between-song musings, eschew the burning issues of the day to handle, instead, the thoughts and life-events normally absent from the rock and roll songbook, the full run of The Wreckage 2023 Tour dates are as follows:

February 2023

Wed 15 Feb – Birkenhead, Future Yard
Thu 16 Feb – Glasgow, Hug & Pint
Fri 17 Feb – Sunderland, Pop Records
Tue 21 Feb – Hastings, Marine Fountain
Wed 22 Feb – London, The Victoria
Thu 23 Feb – Ramsgate, Ramsgate Music Hall
Fri 24 Feb – Brighton, Komedia Studio
Sat 25 Feb – Oxford, Florence Park Community Centre

March 2023

Wed 1 Mar – Manchester, Deaf Institute
Thu 2 Mar – Halifax, The Grayston Unity
Fri 3 Mar – Leeds, Hyde Park Book Club
Sat 4 Mar – Aldershot, West End Centre
Fri 10 Mar – Totnes, New Lion Brewery
Sat 11 Mar – Falmouth, Cornish Bank
Sun 12 Mar – Stroud, Prince Albert
Thu 16 Mar – Aberystwyth, Bank Vault
Fri 17 Mar – Rhayader, The Lost Arc
Sat 18 Mar – Cardiff, Chapter
Wed 22 Mar – Leicester, The Firebug
Fri 24 Mar – Birmingham, Sunflower Lounge
Sat 25 Mar – Nottingham, JT Soars, Nottingham