Isaac Holman, frontman of UK band Slaves,’ has announced his new solo project Baby Dave. Along with the news, Holman has shared the debut single “Too Shy For Tennis.” Baby Dave, includes co-production from Damon Albarn.

Speaking on how the project came to be, Isaac says:

“I was living with my parents after a serious mental health breakdown. I was very unwell, I’d lost my mind and I was suicidal. Once I started feeling a bit better, I began to write. Sitting in my childhood bedroom, on my bed, these tunes started coming out of me. Then lockdown happened and amongst the madness the writing continued. I moved into a flat just down the road because we were all still worried about my mental state. I got a job as a gardener because I didn’t think I could do music again properly and I needed a bit of purpose. I was still writing though, I didn’t really know what for but it was just sorting my head out so I kept doing it. Then the project started coming together. I quit my job and decided to go for it.”

As Isaac explains, “Dating scares the shit out of me. Physical activities when dating is a whole other story, terrifying. This is a tune about that.”

The ‘Too Shy For Tennis’ video tells that story as literally as possible. It opens with a shot of Isaac in the shower, his thousand yard stare foreshadowing his fear of the date that he’s preparing for. After he heads out to meet her in Tunbridge Wells, the date starts well enough, if a little awkwardly… until she suggests a game of tennis. And don’t think about asking him to go bowling either.

His home-recorded ‘Too Shy For Tennis’ was later fine-tuned with co-production courtesy of Blur/Gorillaz legend Damon Albarn. The pair had previously collaborated together on the Gorillaz track ‘Momentary Bliss’.