Hailing from the birthing place of some of the greats of garage punk, Denton, Texas (by way of Austin), Bad Sports are a trio comprising Orville Neeley (guitars/vocals), Gregory Rutherford (drums) and Daniel Fried (bass/vocals). Rutherford and Fried also play together in another Denton band, Radioactivity. Many of the bands coming from the Denton scene share members and these bands tend to share some characteristics, a love of garage punk being the primary one. But they’re at different places on the spectrum. For example, while Radioactivity is fast’n’loud garage punk, Bad Sports tunes are more melodic and mid-tempo. Bad Sports blends late 70s punk, classic power pop melodies, and the sensibilities and feel of garage rock. Lo-fi distortion abounds with heavy reverb, like most garage rock, but the melodies. Oh, those classic power pop hooks are so good! Influences from both the New York punk and Los Angeles power pop scenes can be heard in the seven tracks on offer.
The two opening tracks, ‘Don’t Get Your Hopes Up’ and ‘Living With Secrets,’ have the simple chord structures and basic vocals of early punk but there are great power pop hooks in there, too. These are standout tracks in a record full of great songs. The first track’s lyrics are a bit of a downer, as the song goes from themes of hope and faith to those of war and hate. ‘Pacify My Love’ is reminiscent of Joy Division, in some respects. The rolling bass line and deep vocals are just perfect, and the fuzzed out guitar growls on top of it all. ‘Where Are You’ trades the fuzz for jangle, including acoustic and electric guitar plus keyboards. The juxtaposition of the brightness of the instruments against the minor key in which the song is played gives the track a unique feel. ‘Done To Death’ is maybe the most raucous track of the EP. It’s got a minimalist repetition going on in the instruments, and vocals that are not so much shouted as spoken loudly and atonally. It makes for an interesting combination.
Indeed, all of the tracks make for an interesting listen. It’s essential modern garage punk.
PAUL SILVER