Thursday, May 28, 2015

BAD FUTURE: GOOD TIMES AHEAD

Post-punk is one of those labels that gets tossed around so much that I think it's officially lost its meaning. I'm sure other folks have proclaimed the death of the genre so let's leave that right there. What's tough is for a band to claw its way from the genre-limiting tendrils and be measured on their merits.

Step in, Bad Future. The Seattle foursome, consisting of members from Filth Mattress and Slut River (two amazing bands) offers some wonderfully, melodic punk with the right amount of gutter infused urgency. Think some of the more driving songs by the Wipers, where you keep thinking it's going to change so you try not to get too comfortable with the groove, but the thing keeps on trudging along in a grunge-tinged trance. Their recent release Nightchurch on Dirtcult (totally awesome label name) is a coaxing, slightly distorted and noise-enriched effort. Four tightly wound tunes with enough undertones to keep the most frenzied influence sleuth busy for a few months. If you're able to step away from all that, it's a great record with little frills and a purity of sound that should raise your ears. There's no hope for you if you're dead or too jaded to really hang out with a record a few times over. Ty Stranglehold's review in Razorcake review of 2014's Golden Age sums them up nicely: "I remember this feeling from the pre-Bandcamp or Youtube days. No hype or anyone telling me to check this out, just hearing it and getting chills."

If you're into a band that is as meticulous as they are random, as straightforward as they are challenging, Bad Future will hook you just right. Allow it to hit you as it wants not as you expect. The future is okay.

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