Ezra Vancil, the Dallas-based troubadour known for his raw storytelling and weathered voice, bares his soul once again with “Babylove,” released October 1, 2025. The single serves as the first chapter of his upcoming double album Morning & Midnight, an intimate project chronicling the cyclical journey of love, heartbreak, and renewal. Recorded in a rustic East Texas cabin, “Babylove” embodies the spirit of imperfection, captured in creaking floorboards, analog hiss, and the forest’s faint ambiance seeping through the mix. The intimacy of the setting mirrors the emotional intensity of the song itself, crafted alongside longtime collaborators Lori Martin (bass, vocals), Chris Brush (drums), and Jonathan and Liz Estes (strings).
From the first downstroke, “Babylove” grips you with its gritty swagger, those smug, heavy guitar strums rumble like a warning. Vancil’s deep, smoky rasp slides in with magnetic confidence, carrying weariness and fire. His phrasing feels unhurried but urgent, like someone confessing hard truths under a flickering porch light. As the groove settles into a steady head-nodding rhythm, the percussion jingles and shakes, thickening the texture while the strings climb around his voice like ghosts of past heartbreaks.
Then come the soulful, earthy, and haunting female harmonies, lifting Vancil’s gruff tone into something almost redemptive. When he sings, “Nobody knows what I do for my baby love,” he’s telling us how unimaginable it is and at the same time, drawing this boundary between the lovers and the world, creating safe haven. The arrangement swells subtly toward the end, guitars grinding under his voice as emotion breaks through restraint, blurring the line between ache and devotion.
With “Babylove,” Ezra Vancil captures the ache of lost love and the redemption of honesty. It’s a soulful, lived-in song that smells like smoke, sweat, and rain, and a powerful glimpse into the dark, aching heart of Morning & Midnight.
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Review by: Naomi Joan