I've been doing pretty much two things this morning: continuously watching all the videos I posted a little while ago and playing Bad Moves' self-titled EP on repeat.
Bad Moves are a quartet comprised of David Combs, Katie Park, Daoud Tyler-Ameen, and Emma Cleveland. Combs's Max Levine Ensemble put out a new album at the end of last year; and the rest of the band have roots in several Washington, DC-area bands, making Bad Moves a DC supergroup of sorts.
Thematically, I guess, Bad Moves deals with a world that's basically pretty lousy. Opener "Shitty Tomorrow" could be the theme song for January 19th, 2017. The bouncing guitar and upbeat delivery mask a resignation about a pretty bleak future: "They're coming for the future, yeah. They're coming and they're taking it all."
"Drain Me" gets at the feeling of trying to grow up and move forward when the deck is stacked against you.
"Get Slow," at this late point in 2016, is definitely in contention for one of my favorite songs of the year. The post-punky bass and slow build grab you and pull you in as Bad Moves try to convince you of the virtues of packing it in and leaving the rat race.
That temptation seems to be working on the narrator of "The Verge," stuck in a soul-sucking job and plotting escape.
This is all delivered in the form of infectious, cathartic, and amazingly wonderful power pop. Damn, I wish this EP were longer.
Bad Moves came out today, and it's available on cassette / download from Don Giovanni Records or as a download from Bad Moves' Bandcamp page.
Rocking out to this right now, thanks for the review, Jim!
ReplyDelete