LISTEN: Bad Sounds - 'More Than I Can Afford'

"I bet a clean conscience costs more than I can afford."

Music inspired by the cost of living crisis? Hmm. Music inspired by the cost of living crisis by Bad Sounds? Sign me up, now. If anyone was going to put a catchy spin on a pretty dire topic, it'd be these guys. Self-produced by the band and mixed by Nathan Boddy, this one is a bit of a corker to kick the year off with. Seriously! 

Talking about the themes behind the track, the band share "Being poor and living in an expensive city. Plus trying to eat healthy, not trash the environment, buy organic foods, and support local businesses. These are all things that we try really hard to do in our everyday lives, but it kind of feels unattainable to maintain the moral standards we set ourselves. So we end up feeling really guilty all the time for not being able to live up to that code of ethics every second of every day. This problem has only really been compounded by the ever increasing financial divide in the UK. Hence "I bet a clean conscience costs more than I can afford." You just end up doing your best and lying to yourself about your shortcomings."

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LISTEN: Bad Sounds & BROODS - 'Move Into Me'

Last year kicked off brilliantly with an EP from the dream duo Bad Sounds - Escaping from a Violent Time, Vol. 1. It's such a brilliant collection of tracks. A year (ish) later, they're back, and not quite as we know them... they've just shared Move Into Me, a track featuring BROODS. A fellow sibling duo, they travelled from LA at the start of 2020 to work with the brothers, who they'd toured with the year before, and made this slice of magic.

On the track, Bad Sounds share that it is "about growing closer with someone you love. Georgia (Broods) managed to write her lyrics in a way that felt so specific to what had been happening to her, but at the same time feels like something that so many people can relate to." 

BAD SOUNDS · Move into Me (feat. Broods)

It's the first time that the pair have released a track with such a prominent vocal from another artist, but it's something they've been interested in exploring since the start of the project. Callum explains that "when we started Bad Sounds we always dreamed that it would be a collaborative project, where we'd meet a bunch of like-minded musicians and write songs together and our friends would feature on our music. But we had a lot to learn before we were able to reach that point. We really couldn't have made something like this 2 years ago." 

"Since writing and recording this song we've spent almost a whole year collaborating with other artists and friends. It really feels like the next phase of Bad Sounds, it feels like it's growing into something that's much more than we could achieve on our own, and I think that's something we really value. Especially after spending so much time away from our friends and loved ones due to the pandemic." 

Having spent the last year working from their Bristol studio with the likes of Arlo Parks (on the track Bluish from her debut album), VC Pines, Max Pope, Rose Gray (and many more) on their own music, the duo have an EP of their own coming soon, and there might be more features involved...

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LISTEN: Bad Sounds - 'Breathe'

I had a busy weekend at work (the joys of retail at Christmas...) so didn't get around to writing a blog post for yesterday but today I'm attempting to make it up by bringing you an exciting new tune that was released yesterday. Having returned to our hearts (and our ears) with Sympathetic Vibrations recently, the ever wonderful Bad Sounds have just announced their Escaping From A Violent Time Vol. 1 EP and shared the second track from it, Breathe. Aiming to create a representation of where the band currently stands, without outside influence, the EP was self-produced by the bands frontmen, brothers Callum and Ewan Merrett. Writing and recording underground in a former prison cell in Bristol, they describe wanting to make the EP feel "visceral, and of this moment." 

Talking in more detail on Breathe in particular, Callum explained that "Breathe is about the inescapability of our own human nature. How we are destructive purely by existing, and it isn't something we can help. Some of us carry the burden of that responsibility and truly feel the guilt of being human. We're all kind of hoping that it means something in the end, but perhaps that's just desperately optimistic. Naive even. Also there is a chainsaw at the start." 

You can catch the band live at the following dates:

1st May: Deaf Institute, Manchester
12th: Lafayette, London
13th: The Fleece, Bristol

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WATCH: Bad Sounds - 'Sympathetic Vibrations'

If you missed Bad Sounds' debut album Get Better when it was released last August, you'll first need to set aside 41 minutes to acquaint yourself with it. Then, when you've fallen for it, especially tunes like Avalanche and Evil Powers, get excited about the fact that they're back with new music and an upcoming London show! Brilliant news. Sympathetic Vibrations premiered on BBC Radio 1 recently, and musically I'm really enjoying it but mostly I can't get past how entirely mesmerised I am by the music video. Watch below... 

If you like what you're hearing, get yourself along to their first show in a while, an intimate night at Colours Hoxton on 28th November. Event here for more info/tickets.

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