Australian indie stalwarts, Bad//Dreems are backing up a busy 2025 with a new album in 2026 and further live shows.
After celebrating the 10th anniversary of their 'Dogs At Bay' album with a national tour (as well as releasing the record on vinyl) alongside supporting Grinspoon on their national 30th birthday tour, Bad//Dreems return with 'Ultra Dundee', the title track to their forthcoming fifth studio album.
A group who never shy away from exploring and commentating on Australian culture and our national character, 'Ultra Dundee' is a hypersonic journey through Australian history, geography and urban mythology as vocalist Ben Marwe asks: "What's my name, tell me what's my name?"
Who is Ultra Dundee
Ultra Dundee is you
Ultra Dundee is me
It's a portrait of our culture that is, like the best of Bad//Dreems songs, as invigorating as it is unsettling.
Recorded and produced earlier this year with Dan Luscombe (Amyl and the Sniffers, Courtney Barnett) at Mixmasters Studios in Adelaide, the 'Ultra Dundee' album will be released via the band's own record label, Gutto Records, on 20 March (pre-order it).
The record is a crystallisation and extension of the vision that began with their 'Dogs At Bay' album and has continued over their four albums to date.
"We're chuffed as hell to announce our fifth studio album, 'Ultra Dundee! And with that, a new single, and a swag of gnar merch. We'll be doing a tour celebrate with old mates, The Pretty Littles. Get around it possibly."
The tour will see Bad//Dreems headline gigs in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane next April-May, with the band cooking up something extra special for their hometown show in Adelaide (to be announced soon).
Fans can also catch festival sets from Bad//Dreems at Party In The Paddock in Tasmania and Nice Day To Go To The Club in Port Lincoln where they'll be headlining.
The music video for 'Ultra Dundee' was filmed at the Lower Light pub on the northern outskirts of Adelaide.
Directed by Kaius Potter, it's the second instalment in a series of clips that will comprise a short film based around the character Ultra Dundee, played by Marwe.
"Shot at the legendary Lower Light Hotel, gateway to the North, the clip directed by Kaius Potter and shot by Grégoire Lière, tracks a man unleashed. . . a figure on the hunt, brimming with machismo and braggadocio as he prances around the barfly faithful and toys with godhood," posted Bad//Dreems.
"A nod to the characters of previous Bad//Dreems releases, but an extensive and more forensic deep-dive into the bent mind of the title character."
Tickets on sale (and moving quickly, just sayin').
Bad//Dreems 2026 Tour Dates
Sat 18 Apr - Thornbury Theatre (Melbourne)
Fri 1 May - Marrickville Bowlo (Sydney)
Sat 2 May - The Brightside Outdoors (Brisbane)
