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Hey hey Sorry State fam! How are you? I’m doing ok! Ever buy something extremely expensive off your Discogs want list at like 12 or 1 in the morning? And then wake up and you don’t remember that for at least 2 or 3 hours? That happened to me today. A mixture of excitement and panic washed over me as I was chugging an iced caramel latte. But I think I made the right choice. I made an offer to the same seller on the same record a couple months ago at least, and was denied. Fast forward to last night, and Jeff notified me (thanks again dude!) it was on IG (same seller). But for a price that ended up being the same as my original offer. So after we ironed out some kinks, that baby was all mine. I don’t want to jinx it, so I will share the mystery piece with ya’ll soon. So let’s talk about a record that didn’t take me on an emotional rollercoaster.
The new album by Australian band Bad Dreems (stylized as Bad//Dreems) called Hoo Ha! is my pick this week. The cover intrigues me every time I pull one to pack for an order, so this time I went a step further and checked out the lyric insert. A lot of words. Couldn’t be a hardcore record. Anyway, I tossed it on and right away I liked it.
The album belongs somewhere under the broad umbrella of alternative rock. Does anyone say alternative rock anymore? I know the band doesn’t like the pub rock description they’ve been given in the past, but sorry, pub rock does come to mind by the second song. Politically-based, with art rock and punk influences, it’s snotty, has a sense of humor, and something I don’t normally listen to.
But like it or not, there are songs on this album that remind me so much of the Idles album, Ultra Mono. Especially the second song on the record, Mansfield 6.0. Holy Idles. But so very catchy. The first side of the record is like Idles and Stiff Richards had a snotty kid who Midnight Oil babysits sometimes. It’s their song No Island that’s giving Midnight Oil for me. Not just in their delivery, but the heavier lyrics.
The closing track on the first side, Southern Heat, is one of my favorites. Black Monday and See You Tomorrow (the latter reminds me of Amyl and the Sniffers and Public Image Limited) are also standout tracks for me. All super catchy, fast tempo songs. There are a lot of tempo shifts and style changes on this record.
Speaking of style changes, the song Collapse is a departure from their other tracks. The melody in the first half of the song drove me crazy because it reminded me so strongly of an 80s pop or new wave song I couldn’t pinpoint. So I’ve just settled on the Police song, Don’t Stand So Close to Me (if the Police wrote it in the late 60s). And then it drifts off to something else. Bear with me here. This album takes you everywhere, but I will say the first side is a bit more streamlined and the second side is more experimental and arty. They’re able to pull off different styles pretty well. Parts of their songs have reminded me of at least six different bands.
I’m not crazy about their ballad (Godless). Mostly because I like to keep the energy going and if something is doing the trick, I don’t want to switch gears. And no one ever says “yeah that was cool, but you know what’s missing? More slow songs.” But the song also surprised me by how much it sounded like Jesus Don’t Want me for a Sunbeam (minus the vocals), so it has redeeming qualities.
When I looked up this band, I found a music review of one of their earlier records that said the band can go from sounding like AC/DC to Nirvana, making the point that the band seemed to have widened their musical influences, which were originally Joy Division and all the big art rock bands (e.g. Wipers, Television, Wire). So I felt more validated in my difficulty with describing what the record is like, haha.
Overall, I like many of the songs on this record and I’m glad I gave it a spin. I didn’t know what to expect, but it has depth and some really catchy songs. Give it a try! Thank you for reading and until we meet again..
-Angela