Atlanta-based indie rock quintet Bad Guru formed in 2019 by Sierra Watkins, Ethan Bilkert, Joey Hurley, Blake Powell and Quinn Brophy, have since released two singles and played a string of live shows and festivals. Now they bring us their debut, self titled album recorded and mixed by Kevin Sellors at The Vault Recording Lounge.
Drawing influence from artists such as Kings of Leon, Sturgill Simpson, Highly Suspect, Tool and Soundgarden, the female-fronted outfit offers their own take on the alternative rock genre to create their own energetic and melody-driven sound.
On Bad Guru, roaring guitars laying down grooving riffs, powerful vocals and punching drums all collide to deliver one high-octane jam after another on an album that’s as raucous as it is thoughtfully written. A perfect example and personal highlight comes from the track “Sunshine In Hell”, a lively piece packed with wah-drenched lead riffs and catchy hooks delivering an arena-rock anthem.
Commenting on the release, the group offers, “The ethos behind the album could be succinctly deduced to exploring the dialects of the human experience; the swirl of two contradicting ideas existing together in harmonious rapture; when the black and white thinking transmutes to the rainbow of human experience. The events that inspired the album include political unrest, poor leadership, and breaking out of quarantine.”
Continuing, “We wanted to make sure that each song flowed together with each song playing its part to the whole. We got out of our comfort zone and messed around with odd time signatures for our song Fracture. Other lead tracks to focus on are Enter the Void, Mama Said, and Intuition.”
Listen to Bad Guru below
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