LISTEN: Bad//Dreems – ‘Badlands’ EP

Adelaide’s Bad//Dreems have come a long way since recording their first demos at the Fish Shop with a bloke going by the charming name of ‘Fester’. Coming from a town that’s sometimes seen as a bit of a cultural backwater, the guys are getting some serious attention in the lead up to the release of their debut EP, Badlands.

The EP was named for the southern capital’s derelict northern suburbs – an area of disused factories, abandoned motor tracks and dried-out grasslands. In songwriter Alex Cameron’s words, it’s ‘the weird murder hamlet’ of his hometown. The songs are about the frustration of feeling out of the metropolitan loop. They deal with ‘isolation, claustrophobia, doomed relationships, bad Sundays, fear of home life, paranoia, dreaming, kicking against the pricks …’.

Badlands opens with the misanthropic ‘Chills’, which was inspired by one of those intense heat waves that only South Australia can produce. ‘Take me away where the sun don’t shine / Give me chills, give me darkness all day / Make me sick, let my soul rot away,’ vocalist Ben Marwe sings. ‘I’m only happy when nobody’s happy’.

‘Chills’ is the first single Bad//Dreems released, back in January 2012. It’s notable for being the only track on the EP that was recorded by Jack Farley during the band’s first Melbourne studio session. Farley’s known for his work with groups like the Twerps and Scott and Charlene’s Wedding, and ‘Chills’ fits right in with bands like these, referencing the sound of Australian and Kiwi music from the late 70s and 80s.

The rest of the songs on Badlands were produced by Woody Annison, a guy the band describes as having ‘the energy of a jack russell and the constitution of an elephant’. These recordings really pack a punch, separating themselves markedly from the lo fi, ‘jangly’ aesthetic so common in the Australian indie scene. The new tone is forceful and jagged. Merwes’ rich, throaty delivery is a cut above earlier takes, sounding as compelling and frayed as a young Paul Westerberg.

We’ve already played you the brilliant ‘Hoping For’; lead single ‘Caroline’ is also a ripper. It opens with rollicking drums, which sticksman Miles Wilson says were inspired by Paul Kelly (Paul Kelly on a high dose of amphetamine, maybe), vicious chords and a fast-paced lick. The chorus is cathartic, releasing what sounds like months or even years of pent-up anger. ‘Home Life’ is a dark number that calls to mind the post-hardcore sound of Lync, and the searing guitar and icy post-punk textures of ‘Tomorrow Mountain’ are a world away from the affable band we used to know. Merwes rasps on the track with an almost frightening disaffection: ‘I am bored / I am lonely / I’m scared / I’m scared’.

Bad//Dreems have got to be one of the best bands Adelaide’s produced in decades (agreeing to pretend, for one pleasant minute, that Barnesy never happened). They’ve got a sound that’s distinctly Australian, but frankly, they’re a mile ahead of the pack.

Badlands is out through Mirador today. Get it here and here.

These are the launch dates – don’t miss them:

Friday, 26 July – the Gasometer, Melbourne with the Clits, Velcro, the mysterious and shit hot Destiny 3000 and the Angel and Baby Chain

Saturday, 27 July – the Hotel Metropolitan with Summer Flake and the Ocean Party

Saturday, 3 August – Spectrum, Sydney with Drown Under and special guests