BADFLOWER | OK I'm Sick | Album Review

Mainstream rock is seeing a ton of breakout bands lately, especially over the past few years. One of the more provocative bands out of those is Badflower, a band formed in the earlier part of the decade by guitarist Joey Morrow and mastermind of the band singer/guitarist Josh Katz. Quickly gaining traction after than in 2015 after signing to Hundred Hundred Records which eventualy led to their major label signing with Republic Records and eventually to their current label Big Machine Records, Badlower's debut has been a highly anticipated release since 2018 when they broke out on the Mainstream Rock charts with "Ghost" and later "Heroin", which is currently charting as of this review. Now in 2019 we finally have the record that will determine whether Badflower is here to stay or now with "OK I'm Sick". One notable thing about Badflower is among many styles that may remind one of the early 2000's and emo mixed with hard rock, Badflower's music (especially on this album) is not meant for people who like to play it safe in their lyrical content. It's kind of a rare thing in the current rock scene to have a band that is not afraid of doing anything they want to in their lyrics no matter if it's profane or not, and actually have it work. The writing and the music on this album, to get to the point, lives up to the very blunt and upfront title. 

"Ghost" was released as the first single from "OK I'm Sick" on June 8th of 2018 and quickly got attention on the Mainstream Rock charts ultimately reaching a peak of #2 there, and it's definitely nice to see a new band with potential blow up on the charts and attempt to become a household name. To get to the song "Ghost" itself, this is a very harrowing track to say the least that goes into detail about one's attempts to commit suicide and it doesn't take it too long to go right for the jugular and remain there. The lyrics do a great job at painting the picture of someone who feels hopeless and thinks that their end is coming, which I feel could help anyone who listens to this song that is in a similar situation to the protagonist of this song. It's emotional and musically alluring, and vocally, you really get a lot of effort on Josh Katz end. "Heroin", the second single and one of the songs Badflower recorded before the release of their debut project, has a little bit of that 2000's style intertwined and does not let up on how loud and ambiguous but also varied it gets throughout its near five-minute runtime. Both of these songs feel special and aren't just a band strumming in the studio for a little bit and putting someone out to hopefully get attention. The emotion is well calculated on both of these songs, and that's what you get as you sift through the rest of this 55-minute album. 

This band has brought in a multitude of comparisons by other listeners, some of those being bands like Royal Blood, early Silverchair, My Chemical Romance, among countless others. All of those seem like good comparisons but Badflower have a style of their own that I feel can't be replicated and also leads to various shifts in sound from ambient and melodic like "The Jester", "Promise Me", and the excellent "24" which falls in line with lead single "Ghost" as a track about a person feeling like they don't have anything left to offer, to schizophrenic like the opening track "x ANA x" which lets listeners in on how varied this album will be and "Die", a cut about Donald Trump that seems like it was written by a psycho but it actually works well in how well they sell it. One of my standout tracks on this album, "Murder Games", is a track people seem to dislike on this album but in my opinion it's another example of how layered this album is as it seems to be about how we treat animals in factory farming but it also features a very catchy chorus that is very hard to separate from. Several tracks work just as well on this album like the domestic abuse story of the song "Daddy" and the musically sound "We're In Love", and it's proof that this is a band that doesn't hold anything back. 

Even with that bold claim, there are some tracks that don't work quite as well like "Girlfriend" which despite featuring a solid guitar presence doesn't really work lyrically for me. Neither does "Wide Eyes" even though there is still some compelling writing within the verses of this track. But, the thing is that even with weaker cuts there is still something to keep anyone invested. Rock has seen a decline in popularity in current times which is without saying, but Badflower and other bands among the better crop of newer bands like Rival Sons, Greta Van Fleet, Nothing More, and Royal Blood have the potential to pique some interest back into a "dying" genre even when it comes to the most skeptical of rock's current state. Badflower is easily an example of a band kicking the door down on their debut project and not holding back, and with a starting point like this it's interesting to see how much better Badflower becomes in the future as a band. Overall, Badflower has created one of the best debut albums of the last few years. There is something on this album that's applicable to any rock fan and music fan that has staying power, and if you're sick of the status quo bands in the current rock scene and want something fresh, Badflower is a band to check out. 

RATING: 8/10 

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