Bad Cop/Bad Cop

Not Sorry

Written by: MIN on 06/01/2016 15:39:28

The kick-ass, all-girl four-piece (which they refer to themselves as on Facebook) Bad Cop/Bad Cop, has been a big subject of attention in a rich year over at Fat Wreck Chords. The label has put out albums by several prominent bands in 2015, including releases by Night Birds and Pears, and Bad Cop/Bad Cop is no exception. Stacey Dee of the band is a friend of Fat Wreck-owner, Fat Mike, so it was a given that her new band should intrigue him. In 2014, Bad Cop/Bad Cop released their EP “Boss Lady” through the label to much success, and last summer they released their debut LP “Not Sorry”. Since then, they’ve been playing shows throughout the states with the “Fat Wrecked for 25 Years” anniversary tour plus a show at The Fest in Gainesville, Florida, garnering a relatively big following along the way.

When you look at the cover of their album and listen to the first cut, “Nightmare”, you can’t help but immediately think of fellow Fat Wreck-band, Masked Intruder. You’re quickly introduced to three-part harmonies and a steady, punkish melody joined by sugar-sweet lyrics about a boy and the vocalist’s own awkward, psychotic tendencies. It’s as if you take the harmonies and doo-wops of The Beach Boys and mix it with most skate punk bands of the 90s. If such elements put you off, please stick around, because as you reach the fourth song on “Not Sorry”, “Cheers”, you hear a thick guitar riff and a stomping bass and drum-pattern that change the pace set by the previous songs. The song has a perfect balance between punk attitude and anthemic choruses and breaks. Especially by the last minute, the three vocals each create a peak: one sings the chorus, another quickly rasps out another verse, and the third one makes whoa-ohs in the back, simultaneously – the first of a handful of highlights on the record.

The album contains its fair share of energetic, bombastic and punk-minded statements, such as “Like, Seriously?” and the album-closer “Support” which features riffs and drumming very much like those found on old NoFX and Lagwagon records. While these songs bode well for the band, the album has a handful of other rather forgettable ones, and a lot of the lyrics found are plain cringeworthy. Take the song “Sugarcane” as an example: The theme of the lyrics is well-meant, being about the vocalist wanting to beat up her friend’s ex-boyfriend for mistreating her, but the execution is somewhat juvenile and awkward:

If he came within five feet of me // There’d be a price on his head for sure // I’d use a fucking hammer on his face // Yes, I would do that for her.

Or another line on the aforementioned album-opener, “Nightmare”:

I´d never write a stupid poppy love song // For anybody but you // I just might call you 'Boo'

Obviously, these lines are written like this for a reason: to stay young and fun, and as a breath of fresh air. But they’re just written a lot better elsewhere on the album. For example, in the very same song as mentioned earlier, “Sugarcane”, the line: “The truth it fucking stings // But so do bad beatings” is one to remember, and on “Like, Seriously?” the band shows confidence through: “No we’re not selling sex // But we’ll make your eardrums wet“. Both are lines that have punch while maintaining a sense of playfulness.

“Not Sorry” shows many different and great ideas, and by doing so it never gets boring. Musically and lyrically, it’s nothing special, but the delivery is good, convincing and fun. You can tell these girls had a great time playing, and it’s hard not to laugh a few times while listening to the songs. Bad Cop/Bad Cop are definitely off to a great start – the only question is whether you like all of the ideas they present or not. If not, the album should still have enough varied material for you to enjoy at least a few songs.

7

Download: Cheers; Joey Lawrence; Like, Seriously?; Support
For The Fans Of: Masked Intruder, Lagwagon, Not On Tour
Listen: facebook.com/badcopbadcopband

Release date 16.06.2015
Fat Wreck Chords

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