Babehoven
I See Them, I See Me
DOUBLE DOUBLE WHAMMY
After nine sessions of high-dose ketamine therapy for treating her depression, Babehoven’s Maya Bon is writing from the fringes of surreal, associative gray areas born of personal and global traumas on I See Them, I See Me. Having mastered the tender plea for humility in a tenacious world across two previous albums and a slew of EPs, the Hudson, New York–based duo toys with warped wooden acoustics to reframe under-explored memories, dreams, and lucid reality on 14 twangy tracks that braid painful loose ends together into mutual perspectives on gratitude.
Bon and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Albert’s interweaving outlook on pivotal moments in their lives make a case for the idealized “parallax view,” a mutuality of shared experience from differing vantage points, resulting in the remarkably loose, warm, and live sound this album carries. Much of the vitality of I See Them, I See Me stems from a radical shift in their recording process. Enlisting co-producer Philip Weinrobe and engineers Sam Evian and Kevin Copeland, the band recorded live with a six-piece ensemble with no headphones, no playback, and no second-guessing. Since suffering paralysis of Bon’s right vocal cord back in 2024, this studio environment eased her into the open, spontaneous energy of live performance, providing much-needed space for the record—and for Babehoven—to breathe.
Within the album’s airy tracks shines a rollicking blend of indie-folk and alt-country. Opener “You’re a Liar” introduces a fresh palette of hardanger fiddle, slide guitar, and hand drums, while Bon’s sprightly twang on “Jess Has a Place” tips its hat to both Wednesday and Patsy Cline. Albert’s arrangements nod to classic folk-rock icons Neil Young and The Band, giving the album a tender, traditional sound made for intimate repeat listening. On the country-flecked single “Blue Around You,” Bon confronts her grief with shy strength, delivering the album’s flash of a battle scar with grounded resilience. Dense guitar waters the fields of lead single “Lasagna,” while the grunge-tinged “Am I in a Dream” sees featured vocalist Ella Williams of Squirrel Flower hauntingly trace the impact of our climate crisis.
By the time closing track “Pelorus” settles into its groove of shimmering guitars, I See Them, I See Me steadies its message as an album that insists on finding joy within a fractured and paralyzed world of struggle. Amid it all, Babehoven becomes a totem for embracing profound tenderness and the forever reach toward complete surrender.
