Bad Nerves and Spiritual Cramp

The bastard child of a Ramones/Strokes one night stand, Bad Nerves play ferociously fast distorted pop songs and drew acclaim with their previous releases Dreaming, Baby Drummer, Can't Be Mine. It would appear to be in the DNA of rock music, particularly punk music, that the music itself happens by some kind of happy accident. Nothing truer could be said of the Essex five-piece speed punk band.

Formation and Identity

For frontman Bobby, the formation of the band itself was an unintentional happenstance that just wound up taking off in unexpected but very exciting directions. Did band life choose Bad Nerves or did Bad Nerves choose band life? It's hard to say.

Anticipation for New Album

On the eve of releasing their second album, the brilliantly titled Still Nervous, the boys are still reeling from their surprise success. Their self-made, self-funded debut put them in the hearts and minds of the cream of the alternative crop in 2020; from tastemakers such as Dan P Carter to Alyx Holcombe, and from peers like Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong to Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard. Bad Nerves were instantaneously heralded with the poisoned chalice of saviors of a type of punk that promises to never die.

They've toured with Royal Blood and The Darkness, and have drawn comparisons to Supergrass, the Ramones, and Jay Reatard. Despite all that, their pop rock is a unique and very fast whack over the head that reminds us all of the future life left in hell-raising loud and fast music.

Origins of Bad Nerves

Speaking from his dad's garage-come-studio in Colchester, frontman Bobby recounts how he and bandmate Will had always played in bands. By chance of a random text at the end of 2015 ("let's do a band!"), Bobby relented once more unto the breach. "Seems like a terrible idea," he recalls. "Really?! Another band?!" However, with nothing else to do, it became the only choice. Bad Nerves began to write songs and promised to never play live, but the songs were so much fun they were forced to reconsider. The only challenge was the pace of said songs. Finding a drummer was a nightmare, he laughs.

A Renewed Mission

But what started off as a laugh has now become a fated mission. Gone is the blasé motivation; now Bad Nerves are laser-focused on this being the best thing they've ever done. "It feels like this is the main thing that any of us will do in our lives," says Bobby. "If we're remembered for anything..." Given that rock doesn't have as much of a look-in on the air and in the press, Bad Nerves feel a calling to try and revive rock from the rust.

Looking Ahead

Their second LP, Still Nervous, is due for release Spring 2024. Did they feel pressure approaching the sophomore slump, so to speak? Not at all. The future is loud for Bad Nerves. They proactively seek to make the type of in-your-face, opposite-of-sterile, rock music that the genre was built on. They want to play as much as they can for as long as possible, in the hope of inspiring the next generation, before it's too late. It feels as though they have arrived just in time.

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