Official bio: Belched out of the South Birmingham canals in 2015, Bad Girlfriend is a restless three piece with its roots firmly in garage punk tied together with a healthy dose of psychedelia. Combining in a cacophonous whirlwind of fuzz Bad Girlfriend is made up of raucously energetic shredding frontman Connor Hemming, underpinned by the fuzzy bass tones and bluesy backing vocals of Richie James and held together by their newest addition on the sticks, Alex Moulton.
Quickly integrating with local legends such as God Damn, Youth Man and Table Scraps, they’ve gone on to play with internationally touring groups The Chats, Swervedriver and Dune Rats, and held their own with UK rising acts Murder Capital and Shame. From Glasgow to London, they have played across some of the nation’s underground DIY venues and have started to build a buzz nationwide and are regarded as one the most must see live acts in their region.
Bad Girlfriend will take the 2023 by the horns with the release of their upcoming 4th EP.
It seems April is the month for showcasing Birmingham artists. Just a few weeks ago we reviewed a phenomenal new EP from Maggie Dunne and FUZZBOX and now we have an equally important release on the way. Much louder and rowdier, we must warn you, but essential to be heard if you call yourself a rock music fan.
Socially conscious punk has been making waves on the scene since the debut albums from the likes of IDLES, Big Joanie and Bob Vylan. And the Brum scene is not lagging behind.
Bad Girlfriend have been working themselves to the bone in the studio and on the road for almost eight years now. Over that period, the band released three EPs (“Bad Girlfriend” from 2015, “#KillYourSelfie from 2016 and “BGEP3” in 2018) as well as several standalone singles (“Here It Comes” in 2020 or “My Time” in 2017), toured the country and supported biggest names on the independent circuit. Locally, they are known to be one of the acts that you have to see and as reliable and friendly people in town. When the band’s longtime drummer Billy Smallman-Kopf relocated to Malta and had to depart in April 2022, Connor and Richie issued a very personal statement calling Billy their brother, not of blood but of experience they shared.
Being down to earth and hard working are rare qualities in the industry where ego, parents’ money and label connections will get you ahead of everyone else. But to us at Vanadian, these qualities are like road signs and indicators where to look and who to review. We believe nepotism and absolute lack of values have no place in music if we are to treat ourselves like any other business. And to be very honest, reviewing underground acts is so much fun. Think of it as discovering new and strange islands, full of creativity, wit, engagement and passion. You become a trendsetter, looking ahead and not limiting yourself to artificially set trends.
And this is what I personally like about Bad Girlfriend. They have been creating their own musical landscape in the sea of mediocrity by themselves. If people liked it along the way, brilliant but not expected. The band crafted their own sound – recognizable, quirky mash up of doom, old school punk and alternative rock. Bad Girlfriend reminds me of Hull based Bedsit (you can read our take on their “Dead Bands” record here) and maybe even Heavy Lungs. There is rage, powerful riffs and substantial doses of political statements in what they do. You can’t just dismiss them as yet another angry rock act and move on. You gravitate towards their art and music and get pulled in quickly.
“Snowflakes” is the band`s second single released in 2023 and most likely a title track of their upcoming new EP. In March they already dropped “Misunderstood” – possibly heaviest compositions you will hear this year in the Black Country. Two more songs will follow before the record is finally out. Bad Girlfriend do not give dates, announcements or even hints. Of course, they are not the only artists on the independent circuit to use a strategy to keep the fans on their toes in anticipation. But it works remarkably well. Their DIY gig at Sunflower Lounge in Birmingham on 9th April was in demand and interest in new material was evident.
But reading this review you may be under the impression that Bad Girlfriend is a sombre trio on a mission to improve the world. And that’s not the truth. They may have a goal to make this mortal coil a better place but they rather do it with a wicked sense of humour, than preaching to the choir. Just have a look at the deliciously grotesque video to “Snowflakes”. There is this image of a basement dwelling, TV obsessed and gross internet troll that we all have in mind when we think about the haters posting their crude comments on Twitter. Bad Girlfriend takes that perception and turns it into a caricature. It’s so vividly nauseating, it becomes a parody of itself. “Snowflakes” sees a prime example of a troll on a TV binge – commenting on anything from Jeremy Corbyn`s popularity to education and climate crisis. He becomes so emotionally invested in his own criticism of the world he doesn’t understand that he ends up having a panic attack when the TV set stops working. Who is a melting snowflake now?
Unsure who directed the video, perhaps it is the band themselves, but they did achieve a video close to what Barry Ament (Jeff Ament`s brother if you don’t know) would direct in the 90s for Seattle bands. Not bad if you ask me.
Should we rate “Snowflakes”? Why not? We will give it 5 Guardians (that’s the name of the bronze Bull – protector of Birmingham that you can find outside the BullRing Shopping Center) to keep up with the local theme.
You can follow Bad Girlfriend on socials:
https://www.facebook.com/badgirlfriendbrum
https://www.instagram.com/bad_gf_bham/
https://www.youtube.com/@badgirlfriend0121
https://soundcloud.com/badgirlfriendbrum
https://badgirlfriend0121.bandcamp.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/78CydARp8XaoY47PaKfwNa
Malicia Dabrowicz
Indieterria 