With K-Pop dominating my life, and I don’t see that it will ever stop, it means I was really slow to the punch on new music from other artists I’ve loved for such a long time. Take, for example, Bad Suns. You’d think after seeing them for the first time in years would have propelled me to listen to their new album, Accelerator, as soon as it dropped. Nope. But better late than never, I suppose.
Speaking of seeing them live for the first time in years…firstly, amazing. They sounded incredible, and seeing them in such a small space again was a real treat. But, at that show, we were given a special thing – a new song off of an album that hadn’t even been officially announced yet! That song ended up being “Mystery Girl.” Which, in a live setting with no knowledge of how it was supposed to go or sound, I think I liked it at the time. Hearing a studio version of it lends itself to a kind of hippy vibe, which I neither like nor dislike. As far as comparing it to other songs on the album though, it became a little forgettable.
For me, this album was a bit of a mixed bag. There were definitely songs I liked a lot. For instance, “Communicating” is peak Bad Suns. I believe this was one of their singles and it had me really excited for the rest of the album. One that might have usurped it for me was “Just Like Magic.” Despite its corny title, it encompasses disco in the best way possible. For as lively as the opening of the track is, I really like how the instruments almost totally cut out with the verses. It makes them sound a bit suave, but then the chorus is insanely fun! This might be their most unique sounding track to date, and it’s working for me!
A song where the disco vibe sounded good was “Back to Zero,” but the repetitive chorus really grated on my nerves. I know that lead singer Christo became a dad this year (insane), so it’s natural that some of the songs on here were going to address those changes coming into his life. Unfortunately, they were done in such conry ways that I know I will never be repeating “Ready to Take Flight” again. I really wanted to like the opening track, “Slow Karma,” because it sounded very much like a Bad Suns song, but the production really felt like it was lacking. However, there is a bass note just before the final chorus that is godly. Hallelujah!
Unfortunately, the rest of the album didn’t do much for me. The back half lost a lot of steam and it was a lot of sounds that just don’t vibe with me, but I have hope for future Bad Suns music! And that certainly isn’t going to stop me from seeing them again this spring.