Artist info
Genre
Metal, Rock
Sounds like
Bring Me The Horizon, Saosin, Anberlin, The Getaway Plan, 30 Seconds To Mars, Hands Like Houses
band members
Landon Kirk Lachlan Monty Zac Noble Alex Trail
Influences
Emotional Music
Unearthed artists we like
Trophy Eyes, Dream On Dreamer, Tonight Alive, Northlane, Polaris, Foxblood
Gig
21 May
Max Watt's
Melbourne, 3000
Melbourne
8:00pm
Gig
22 May
Enigma Bar
Adelaide, 5000
Adelaide
8:00pm
Gig
28 May
The Brightside
Brisbane, 4006
Fortitude Valley
8:00pm
Bio
Bad/Love was conceived in mid 2019 out of a shared love of the eminent emotional rock groups of the early 00’s - the founding members set out to usher in a renaissance of the sound with a modern gloss and a sharpened edge. Today Bad/Love are one of the most exciting up and coming alternative acts that are leaving it all out there.
Fast forward to 2020, a lot of artists withdrew and hid. It's the year we all wished we could forget, however with a "nothing will stop us" attitude Bad/Love put their heads down and got to work. Before experiencing one of the longest COVID lockdowns in the world, Bad/Love snuck in a festival performance at UNIFY Gathering and (most of) a national tour with friends in The Brave as well as announcing their support on Dream On Dreamer's final ever tour. The band managed to release two massive hits, DMU & Social Suicide (ft Ken of Crossfaith) in 2020 which have taken the band to a new level. Bad/Love were recognised by QMusic's BIGSOUND as one of the 50 most exciting artists to watch out for in Australia as well as being crowned a Triple J Unearthed Feature Artist.
Bad/Love is Landon Kirk (Vocals), Lachlan Monty (Guitars), Zac Noble (Bass) & Alex Trail (Drums). No strangers to the international touring market, the band consists of past & present members of bands such as Make Them Suffer, Storm The Sky, Agnes Manners, Like Royals & more. Many years of sharing the stage as friends have afforded Bad/Love an electrical chemistry that bolsters their performance.
The band have now announced their sophomore EP 'Life Imitates Art' will be released worldwide on April 9th, 2021. The anticipated EP will feature singles 'DMU', 'Social Suicide' & upcoming single 'Feel Good'.
Get to know this week's triple j Unearthed Feature Artist, Bad/Love!
Tell us about your music. How did you develop your sound?
Our music has really fluctuated since we started in June 2019. Our debut EP 'SIOIS' was written in 2018 when I felt a calling to start writing music again after a hiatus. At the time I was falling back in love with the emo music I grew up on (Saosin, My Chemical Romance etc) and it was really hitting a chord with me. I really wanted to put a modern touch on that sound I loved so much so got to work creating Bad/Love with producer Callan Orr and our friend Marcus Bridge helping with vocal production (we bonded over the idea of an emo revival and he has always understood what I was going for). After a year of looking for the right musicians to play with, we formed and put out 'SIOIS'. After a few months together we started to come together more and combine our writing skills to create something a bit different to the origin, but something that feels a hell of a lot more Bad/Love. We've continued to work with Callan & Marcus whilst adding Beau McKee (Drum Production) & Forrester Savell (Mix/Master). We feel our team really helps pull the best out of us as songwriters and performers.
What’s your greatest source of inspiration for making music?
When everythings gone, music is really all I have. It's what drives me each day. I constantly have to have music running to act as a soundtrack to my life to keep me calm and happy. I feel the most "me" when I create. It's a very therapeutic process for me. Our peers inspire us daily. We are blessed to surround ourselves with some of the most talented people in the country for alternative music and when they create something, it calls me to do the same.
What can punters expect from a Bad/Love live show?
Our live show is one of our favourite parts of being a band. Expect a lot of theatrics, crazy lighting and everything turned up to 11. We really like to creative an immersive live experience people can really get lost in.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given and who was it from?
Chris (#2) Barker from Anti-Flag once explained his views on an album to me and it changed the way I view my music. He talked about how a record is exactly that. We leave behind a record in time that people can come back to. You are leaving your mark on the world. So say what matters to you at the moment. Write what influences you at that time. It has really let me not focus on writing "what's hot" and write for me. It let's me be more honest and accepting that not everything needs to be perfect, it just has to be true to me at that moment in time.
What Australian track would you play to cheer up someone who was crying?
'Figure Eight' by Trophy Eyes. That always makes me smile and feel empowered.
What Australian track would you play to someone to make them cry?
'Brilliant Blue' by Agnes Manners. It brings me to the point of tears every time I hear it, which makes it especially hard to play sometimes.
You’re the DJ at a party. The dance floor is pumping. What Australian track do you put on next?
'Fire' by Peking Duk. You show me a person who doesn't want to dance to this track and I'll show you a liar.
What was the last local gig you went to? How was it?
This is really testing my memory given COVID. I believe it was actually our tour with The Brave & Sleep Talk, we actually had to cancel the final Brisbane show due to lockdown.
That was a super fun tour, in fact our first tour. We have so much fun with The Brave and the Melbourne show in particular was super special for us.
Tell us about the bands or people in the local music community that inspire you.
Northlane, Polaris & Alpha Wolf are continually carrying the flag for heavy music in Australia. What both bands have achieved in their careers are amazing influences and both bands are so lovely. Greyscale Records have been doing amazing things and are growing so rapidly. Tom Johanessen at New World Artists has to be one of the hardest people I've ever met and he always makes me want to work harder, his ethic and results are INSANE. Finally our manager Jase Clarke (No Honey), he has really come into management in a big way and is helping inspire us daily to be the best we can be.
What are your plans for the rest of 2020?
This Sunday we are super excited to FINALLY be hitting the stage again for a few sold out shows at Stay Gold to support Beyond Blue, a great event organised by What We Did On The Weekend. Besides that, we have new music to finish putting together for a release next year that we are extremely excited about. There is absolutely no slowing down for us and we are very excited for 2021.
Review
Bad/Love arrived at the studio choosing violence. This one goes for the jugular and snatches the spine for good measure.
Bad/Love arrived at the studio choosing violence. This one goes for the jugular and snatches the spine for good measure.
Review
bad/love are becoming experts at fusing the beastly, searing moments with soaring, melodic sounds as well. it's like a rare steak, perfectly paired with a red wine and some 24hr gravy or jus or something.
bad/love are becoming experts at fusing the beastly, searing moments with soaring, melodic sounds as well. it's like a rare steak, perfectly paired with a red wine and some 24hr gravy or jus or something.
Review
Ugh, you guys... this is IT. Please, I can only get so hype for these grand, dramatic emo numbers! You've got everything in the bag - the double claps, the cutaway moments where your harmonies shine, the choir at the end, the whispering - it's superb.
Ugh, you guys... this is IT. Please, I can only get so hype for these grand, dramatic emo numbers! You've got everything in the bag - the double claps, the cutaway moments where your harmonies shine, the choir at the end, the whispering - it's superb.