Track Of The Day: Bad Idea – ‘Crash’

A hazy, melodic musing on the familiar feeling of burning out, Leeds-based band Bad Idea have shared their latest single ‘Crash’. Released via Leeds label Come Play With Me, the track meshes the band’s shoegaze and dream pop sensibilities with relatable lyrics to create a swirling distraction from the overwhelming desire to crash out of your many commitments.

Formed in 2016 on a drunken night out dancing to Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’, Bad Idea’s Sarah Sefton and Daniel Johnson chose the band’s name after entering into a new creative project and a new romantic relationship together simultaneously. They put aside their concerns about how this might affect their musical dynamics and enlisted the help of new bandmates Charlie Peacock and Liam Lambert in 2019 to flesh out their sounds. On new single ‘Crash’, the band embrace the idea of “putting yourself in front of a slow moving car, or acquiring a minor injury of some sort to get out of your commitments, because you’re too tired and want to go home” with atmospheric flair.

“It’s a sad song about exhaustion and anxiety, but also camaraderie,” vocalist Sarah explains further. “It describes an anxiety that I share with most of my colleagues and friends..the song mirrors this feeling in the music with slow, drifting and overlapping vocals and sudden hard choruses.”

Listen to ‘Crash’ below.

 

Follow Bad Idea on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Facebook & Instagram

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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WATCH: DEBBY FRIDAY – ‘FOCUS’

Inspired by her decision to fully embrace her creativity and push her talents to the limit, Nigeria-born, Vancouver-based audio-visual artist DEBBY FRIDAY has shared her latest single ‘FOCUS’. Full of jagged electronics and sultry, commanding vocals, the track is accompanied by a striking set of visuals featuring and co-directed by Friday and Ryan Ermacora.

“I wrote this song in 2019, when I first started thinking about writing an album and the possibility of pursuing my creative passions as my career was making itself known to me,” Friday explains about ‘FOCUS’. “I kept debating with myself, ‘do I want this? or do I not want this?’ It’s a heavy question. The video also speaks to this. The whole process was like undergoing some sort of fire baptism. It was difficult and chaotic and supernatural. I felt like I was the mountain, cracking open and spilling forth.”

Cauterizing her conflicting thoughts with impressive flair, Friday’s efforts have resulted in a distinctive sound and aesthetic. She elaborates on how the accompanying video was created: “Getting the logistics of everything together was the most stressful part. It’s not everyday that you have to figure out how to make an avalanche and take fire bullwhip cracking lessons. Thankfully, I had a really supportive crew the whole way through. It took a lot but I feel like this song and video marks a turning point for me that I can’t exactly name yet.”

Watch the video for ‘FOCUS’ below.

Follow DEBBY FRIDAY on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Photo credit: Laura Baldwinson

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Christine Sako – ‘Coda’

Inviting with a breezy-pop disposition, Christine Sako brings us another infectious ear-worm with her latest release ‘Coda‘. Following her recent track ‘Seasoned’ and the shimmering sound of ‘Sediments‘, the Minneapolis musician proves that her artistic identity still has space to unfold as she brings us into another sonic undertaking that is uniquely her own. 

Beat driven melodies and dense layers of synth create cool, crisp layers for the bed of ‘Coda’ to dance upon. It is here where we see the benefits of Sako’s production abilities – sounds concentrated and filled with attention to tonal detail. This track showcases Sako’s use of captivating aspects of electronic soundscapes, juxtaposing them perfectly with the melodies of an energetic-pop anthem. 

‘Coda’ is wholesome in meaning, embodying both the relatable struggle of running into burnout, whilst also providing a feel-good song that captures the empowering feeling of letting go of negativity. Draped in Sako’s glistening, powerful vocals, its chorus is an undeniable hook that is clear and confident with cathartic emotion. 

Christine Sako holds her own with power-pop assertiveness and enticement, as ‘Coda’ holds our attention with its blissful energy.

Jill Goyeau
@jillybxxn

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Track Of The Day: Nadia Sheikh – ‘Love Is Undefined’

As the nights grow longer and colder, Nadia Sheikh has gifted us a soul-searching indie rock treat with a perfectly wintery vibe. The British-Spanish artist’s latest single sparkles with an expansive sound and her consistently mesmerising, smooth vocals.

Following the hypnotic honesty of ‘IDWK’, ‘Love Is Undefined’ is similarly introspective, bursting into the guitar-laden hook “what am I to you?/what are you to me?” with intense feeling. Layered around Sheikh’s melancholy lyricism, eerie piano and echoing whispers add spooky ambiance, while the track roams around the classic quiet-loud rock dynamic with chiming emotion to beautiful effect.

Sheikh explains: “Sometimes love just turns into dust. You realise things aren’t working out and you can’t keep on going on but you’re so afraid of hurting the other person that you end up hurting yourself. That’s what I tried to convey in ‘Love Is Undefined’. Here I’m at my most honest. It was a very cathartic song to write, a bit scary too as it’s so personal, but it helped me heal and I hope it can help anyone going through the same kind of situation.”

More captivating gifts are in store as ‘Love is Undefined’ is taken from Nadia Sheikh’s upcoming EP Undefined, set for release on 16th November.

Leonie Bellini
@teenpeachmovie

Photo Credit: Laura Avinent

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