Bad Sounds live at SWX - Bristol Live Music Review
Posted on: 2018-10-27
Our rating:
Bad Sounds left nothing out of this performance. As well as plentiful red and yellow balloons and regular flurries of confetti, they leapt into the crowd, leapt on each other, and delivered an energetic performance that was as tight as it was joyous.
It was something of a homecoming for Bath band Bad Sounds when their UK tour brought them to SWX for a fun-filled 70 minutes of energy, balloons and confetti.
Openers Dylan Cartlidge and Indoor Pets were very worthy support acts. Cartlidge captured the imagination with a genre-defying display that encapsulates rap, hip-hop, soul, funk and plenty more besides, before Indoor Pets turned up the volume with a raucous indie-rock set that got the temperature rising very nicely.
Then it was the main act, and Bad Sounds well and truly took advantage of the upbeat Friday night feeling in the room. Fronted by brothers Ewan and Callum Merrett, the five-piece have been gaining in profile since the release of debut album ‘Get Better’ earlier this year. That, plus a clutch of showstopping festival performances over the summer, has earned them some well-deserved attention.
They bring that festival feel to their live show in a pretty big way and have the tunes to go with it. Most of the album was given an airing, with highlights including ‘Wages’, ‘Evil Powers’, ‘Couldn’t Give It Away’, and ‘Thomas Is a Killer’.
There was a missed opportunity perhaps for the track ‘Milk It’. Hopes that Gloucestershire-based Katy Pearson of Ardyn – who sings on the record – might have made a guest appearance at this local show were dashed, with the brothers covering the vocals between them.
But that aside, Bad Sounds left nothing out of this performance. Even some microphone issues seemed to add rather than detract from the show, as Ewan Merritt lifted his stage technician in the air as he tried to fix the problem and proceeded to spin him around the stage.
And as well as plentiful red and yellow balloons, and regular flurries of confetti, they leapt into the crowd, leapt on each other, and delivered an energetic performance that was as tight as it was joyous. It’s hard to see how they can ever really Get Better.
4/5
Photos by Martin Allen
Article by:
As a lifelong music obsessive, Martin brings his extensive journalism experience to bear on reviewing some of the many gigs that make Bristol's music scene one of the liveliest in the country. Originally from London, he spends his time following AFC Wimbledon, tormenting his children with Dad Jokes, and getting out to see as much live music, comedy and theatre as possible.
