The funfair is broken. We spent more than a century constructing its maze of carousels, rollercoasters and merry-go-rounds, rewarding its architects with a financial and cultural status beyond most people’s wildest dreams. Then something went wrong. The owners of the fair continued coining it in while their attractions grew rickety, and their creators endured less autonomy and a smaller share of the profits. The people we relied on for escapism, art and insight became as estimable as carnival barkers. 

Such is the theme of Billy Nomates’ new LP Metalhorse, her first with a full band, which dissects the idea of a rundown funfair to examine the music industry, her personal struggles and precarious economic models we’ve built for ourselves. It’s a dark philosophy reflective of a difficult period in Victoria ‘Tor’ Maries’ life; three months before entering Paco Loco recording studio in Seville, her father passed away with Parkinson’s and she herself was diagnosed with MS. ‘There was a part of me that just held onto the album for dear life as this positive thing,’ she says. ‘Recording an album is quite high-pressure and stressful in its own way, but in comparison to what I’ve just been through, it was light relief. By going through with it, I was kind of honouring him. Even though there were parts of me that wanted to turn everything off and go “do you know what? I’m going to take a year off and walk into the mountains or something”. But the idea of not finishing the album just wasn’t an option.’ 

Though raw in its treatment of loss, its theme gives Metalhorse a shimmer, replete with references to a hall of mirrors and the endorphin-tingling sound of a one-armed bandit. ‘It gives you a bit of poetic license to hide behind, and I always like making things a little more fantastical. It was also just a good analogy for so many aspects of my life. In the music industry, you’re constantly aware that bolts are loose on the ride and that the candy floss is rank. Parts of it you really enjoy and parts of it make you feel sick. It’s like being on the waltzers at the end of the world, just holding on and trying to find some light and some fun.’ 

It’s telling that much of Metalhorse feels indebted to the no-holds-barred pop experimentalism of the 80s, from the guest appearance of Hugh Cornwell (a favourite of Tor’s father, who was buried with Stranglers memorabilia) to her soaring power-pop vocals. Was the funfair in a fitter state back then? ‘It was all up for grabs. If I’d been around in the 80s, I’d have been a shoo-in! You’d get fuckin’ normal-ass people being popstars, right? You could get someone with a balding head, gut in a suit and singing his heart out, and everyone would be like “that guy’s sexy”. Whereas now the incredible pressure to be a ready-made rockstar is always there. But normal people don’t write that stuff.’ 

And there’s the nub with Billy Nomates, an artist making accessible, confronting songs while negotiating the demented carnival of an industry in crisis. ‘It’s important to me to make something that I really like and that I feel represents my vision. If I do that, and I’m not in loads of debt, then that’s ok.’

Metalhorse is released by Invada Records on Friday 16 May; Billy Nomates plays Fringe By The Sea, North Berwick, Friday 8 August.