Recommended Tracks: “Only Love”, “Don’t Hate Me”, “My Funeral”
Artists You May Like: Palaye Royale, Dead Poet Society, The Unlikely Candidates
When we reach the end of days, how are we going to feel? What are we going to do? Will evil rise up? Will love conquer all? It might seem silly to ponder something that nobody really has the answers to, but if anyone is going to go there, it is shameless rock band Badflower. The guys are not afraid to speak their minds and say what’s in their hearts, just like they did on their 2019 debut, OK, I’M SICK, and continue to do on their ravishing sophomore album, This Is How The World Ends. Looking at our actions, reactions, and relationships, This Is How The World Ends demonstrates how we play a bigger part in our demise than we realize.
If the world ends in fighting and screaming, then there are plenty of tracks on the album that harness this energy and support the rage. When things get heated, like they do on dirty rock track “Johnny Wants To Fight” or on the syncopated “Stalker,” frontman Josh Katz willfully gives himself up to the chaos. He will fully invest in his words until he is breathless, until the pitch bends and the lyrics speak for themselves. The music tends to evaporate when this happens, like it does at the end of “Machine Gun,” leaving us with nothing but unfiltered emotion.
To balance out the louder moments on This Is How The World Ends, Badflower also give us songs that are softer and delicate to the touch. The opening track “Adolescent Love” is our first encounter with these vulnerable songs, as we hear Josh achingly recount how “adolescent love is a violent one.” We then get a little more action on the bittersweet “She Knows,” which has a fuller sound, but the same weightless vocals. It could definitely count as the rock ballad that couples would slow dance to at the prom, with the potential of being the song that brings them together or drives them apart. It is so impressive, and really cool, to hear Badflower go from feisty to feeble with these sweeter songs, showcasing their strong versatility and artistry as a band.
Regardless of whichever style song we get from the guys, though, the ability for their songs to connect always comes through. Badflower have a way with words, and they are very good at telling it like it is – no metaphors, no similes, no cover-ups. When Josh sings about making his sisters cry, as he does on “Family,” or feeling as if he has to have opinions, as he does on “Everyone’s An Asshole,” he gets right to the point – and makes even more points along the way. There are times when Josh even admits that he might not really know what he is going on about or should “shut the f*ck up” altogether, like he expresses on the acoustic closing track “My Funeral,” but this humility and honest expression of observations and thoughts are what keep fans close.
Overall, there is a lot of heart on This Is How The World Ends. You can tell that the guys have spent so much time on every track, perfecting each audio sample, each transition, each riff. In the end, we get songs that play out like a movie, filled with action, adventure, drama – it’s all there! With This Is How The World Ends, Badflower enhance the sound that they gave us on OK, I’M SICK and confirm that they can be the rock band that changes everything.
You can listen to This Is How The World Ends on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
Catch Badflower on their current fall tour here.
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