Two years after the release of their debut EP, 'Badlands', Adelaide band Bad//Dreems have unveiled their first, studio album.
Vocalist/ guitarist Ben Marwe says the waiting period prior to release involves a range of emotions. "Anxious and excited I think are the two major emotions running through my body at the moment, just because you never know how people are going to perceive it, but I’m excited to see what people think," he says.
Describing the album as “honest”, Ben is modest about the reception the band anticipates receiving. "I hope that people can somewhat see it as poetic at times, rocky at times, melodic and, I don't know, it's a rock album and it's our first album and I hope people like it and I hope to write many more albums.
“But if that opportunity isn't presented to us, then you know, our philosophy is that we always wanted to write the album that we would listen to for our first album, and I think we've done that, so whatever happens from now on happens, it's been recorded, so yeah, there it is.”
Perhaps part of the anxiety Ben feels is due to some criticism the band faced regarding their video for 'Hoping For'; they were called out for playing up to bogan culture. "We actually have a song on the album called 'Bogan Pride', which is a song about the machismo element of the young, Australian male and how they adopt that Southern Cross tattoo, fist pumping, whether you want to delve into sexist and racist behaviour; it's a commentary on that rather than representing ourselves as bogans, we're merely writing about people like that," he says.
"It's something I choose to steer clear of and I very much dislike that side of Australian culture, but I also think that it's important to maintain some kind of pride in who we are, and whether it's Indigenous or European influence in our history. I mean, I can't change the past and I can't change the way other people act, but if we can provide some kind of insight into what we think or our philosophies on those parts of Australian culture, we will.
“And if people are gonna take it the wrong way, then maybe they should delve a little deeper into our lyrics or what we're about or perhaps even come up and have a conversation before you pass judgement on somebody you don't know.”
With a longer look at the lyrics of many of the tracks featured on 'Dogs At Bay', it's apparent that a lot of its content is based around the band's hometown. Adelaide is often misunderstood by its eastern counterparts. But according to Ben, there is a lot more to the city of churches than meets the eye. "People don't really go to Adelaide; they call it a shit hole... but Adelaide is more of an interesting place than people give it credit for."
Ben is also optimistic about the future of the music and art scene in Adelaide. "The thing about the Adelaide music scene, it's becoming stronger and stronger I think; it's gaining momentum, slowly but surely and I think that the arts programme and the funding to push Adelaide bands nationally and internationally should be credited massively for that, and I think we will start to see some massive changes in the next five to ten years.”
'Dogs At Bay' is out now.
Written by Mardi Reason
Bad Dreems Tour Dates
Fri 25 Sep - Fowlers Live (Adelaide)Fri 9 Oct - Oxford Art Factory (Sydney)
Fri 16 Oct - Woolly Mammoth (Brisbane)
Sat 17 Oct - Miami Shark Bar (Gold Coast)
Sat 24 Oct - Northcote Social Club (Melbourne)
Fri 30 Oct - The Odd Fellow (Fremantle)
Sat 31 Oct - Amplifier Bar (Perth)
