Has it really been a decade since Bad//Dreems released their debut album, 'Dogs At Bay', a record fused with simmering alt rock, biting lyricism and the blue-collar spirit of hard work.
The Adelaide locals, who have always lent in strong to their pub-rock roots, will celebrate the 10th anniversary milestone with a series of intimate gigs across the country.Set to play 'Dogs At Bay' in full, followed by a second set of hits and fan favourites, Bad//Dreems will land in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide across four weekends in September, before the band fly west to Perth for an early November show.
"I was never convinced that people really understood the band or our songs at the time. Then again, I don't know if we really did either," admits guitarist-backing vocalist Alex Cameron, discussing their debut album that was produced by Mark Opitz (AC/DC, INXS, Cold Chisel, The Angels, Divinyls).
"After our early releases, some pseudo-cultural elites wrote us off as 'pub rock'. So, this was a moniker we embraced, unfashionable though it was at the time. It proved an interesting vehicle to explore many of the themes that underpin the Australian identity, which is something we have always been drawn to.
"'Dogs At Bay' was the beginning of an exciting and often peculiar road, replete with a few pot holes and wrong turns. The songs seem to have stood the test of time; many are still mainstays of our set. We feel lucky that there is interest enough from people for us to revisit it."
While the record's bigger hits like 'Cuffed & Collared' and 'Dumb Ideas' found a home with a wider mainstream, it's the album's rawer moments like 'Bogan Pride', 'Naden', 'Hume' and 'Sacred Ground' that highlighted a band not content with reproducing the standard 3-minute radio song.
Rather, their commitment to unflinching storytelling without irony or filter allowed Bad//Dreems to strip away the banal veneer of modern Australian life and reveal the uncomfortable truths beneath; and in the process, connecting to a slice of Australia not often portrayed in modern music.
'Dogs At Bay' was a raw, noisy and deeply relatable record, set on the backlots and lonely flat lands of their home town of Adelaide and its surrounds. A decade on, it still resonates as deeply as it did in 2015, and has helped paved the way for the likes of Amyl and the Sniffers, The Chats and Pist Idiots to storm international stages.
"We wanted to show that it was ok to like football and poetry," declares Cameron. The band will release a limited edition 10th anniversary vinyl of 'Dogs At Blue' in 'Bogan Brick' and 'Hume Blue' colourways – order it.
Tickets are on sale.
Bad//Dreems 2025 Tour Dates
Fri 5 Sep - Mary's Underground (Sydney)Thu 11 Sep - Lefty's Music Hall (Brisbane)
Fri 19 Sep - The Evelyn (Melbourne)
Sat 20 Sep - Port Noarlunga Arts Centre (Adelaide)
Fri 7 Nov - Indian Ocean Hotel (Perth)
