There’s nothing like a good dose of aural medicine to stimulate the system and the new single from Melbourne band Badgers does that and more. ‘Why Am I You Only Friend?’ is a veritable onslaught of jangling guitars, delicious layered harmonies with an epic swagger and joie de vivre bigger than the temporal world.
Plowing the same furrows of psychedelic indie pop fiends such as The Brian Jonestown Massacre and early Dandy Warhols, with the same sharp ear for melody and harmony as Oasis and The Charlatans, the result is something that stands on its own two feet and explodes with attitude. Lead singer Michael Badger has form: he has mixed and recorded the likes of King Gizzard & The Lizard and Amyl & The Sniffers and the anarchic and wild approach bleeds through.
Ultimately the strength of the track lies in its monumental explosive choruses cloaked in glorious harmonies, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and reverb/wah-wah soaked guitars.
The bucolic, COVID-safe video captures the band in all its glory picnicking in the park – exuding the very sense of unabandoned joy found in the song:
What a pulse quickening delight.
The single is released through UK’s Strong Island Recordings and available through all the usual download/streaming sites.
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