There’s no denying that in the last couple of years, the UK scene has been really begun to thrive again. Not that it was ever bad, but with bands such as Milk Teeth, Hindsights, and Water Canvas (to name but a few) providing a resurgence in good, solid rock music, it has put the underground scene back on the map. A name you will have seen on flyers for many shows – including with some of the aforementioned bands – is Cheltenham based indie-rock quartet Bad News, and today we are bringing you the first play of their excellent new single ‘Wide Awake’.
Coming off the back of last years ‘Saraswati’ EP, the new single has seen them expand on their sound, and shows how much they have grown in a short time. The melodic guitar hooks that weave in and out of the pulsating rhythm at the core of ‘Wide Awake’ make it instantly inviting, and provides the perfect soundtrack to an honest and introspective lyrical narrative.
“The song really indicates how much we’ve progressed as a band in the space of a year” enthuses vocalist/guitarist Tom Playfair. “Our previous EP ‘Saraswati’ was literally a recording of the first 4 songs we wrote as a band,so the sound of that record is was very much guided by instinct and was about making a mark early on. Wide awake was a more carefully crafted effort on our part, still maintaining what we would see as a “Bad news” vibe in which we retain a folky and ambient sound, yet I feel the dynamic and sonic landscape of the song when it comes to lyrics and instrumentation was way more deliberate”.
“I think as a whole, ‘Wide Awake’ can give a really strong idea to listeners of how we are bending the genre of indie rock” says Playfair on the direction of the bands new single. “We are embracing the freedom that comes with writing music, and compared to our first single ‘Native Tongue’, this single is completely different yet still made by the same band”.
If ‘Wide Awke’ is anything to go by, then it wont be long before Bad News are more than just a support act to the leading lights of the UK scene. Having played numerous shows and several festival slots, things will only get bigger and better for this promising quartet from here on out.
The new single is due for release on October 2nd, and the band will be playing several shows next month to celebrate the release. You can see the dates, and listen to ‘Wide Awake’ below.
October
15 OXFORD The Library
16 CHELTENHAM 2 Pigs