Bad Suns Announce New Album 'Apocalypse Whenever' Out January 28

Los Angeles-based band Bad Suns have announced their fourth studio album Apocalypse Whenever out January 28 via Epitaph Records.  

Produced by long-time collaborator, Eric Palmquist (half•alive, Mutemath, Thrice), Apocalypse Wheneverfeatures dreamy ’80s pastiche flanked by Stratocasters through cranked Vox amps, pulsing synths, and palpable rhythmic energy. While all of the elements associated with the band’s signature sound are beautifully showcased, their fourth studio album sees Bad Suns take a more conceptual approach to their songwriting, resulting in their most sophisticated work to date. 

The 13-track album was conceived as “the soundtrack to a movie that doesn’t yet exist,” setting the scene as the album’s protagonist washes up on the shores of a fictionalized LA after a near-death experience at the hands of the turbulent ocean. In order to fully conceptualize their story, the band did what any good director would do; assembling a mood board, filtering their neo-noir version of Los Angeles through the dreamlike haziness of author Haruki Murakami, the futuristic flair of Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Blade Runner, and the lifted cinematography of Spike Jonze’s HER. 

From there, the band traced the totality of the character’s life through a series of flashbacks that encompass a blissful summer romance (“Peachy”), hurts-so-good Smiths-ian hubris (“Life Was Easier When I Only Cared About Me”), heartbreaking disaffection (“Wishing Fountains”), and unconditional love (“Symphony Of Lights”). 

“Throughout the course of the album, the main character is forced to re-evaluate everything that’s happened in their life,” vocalist Christo Bowman explains. “Ultimately, the takeaway they’re left with is, ‘This could all end at any time, so instead of moaning about things, I’m going to make the most of it.’” 

 

APOCALYPSE WHENEVER TRACK LIST  

1. Apocalypse Whenever  

2. Summer Lightning  

3. Baby Blue Shades  

4. Peachy 

5. When The World Was Mine  

6. Wishing Fountains 

7. Electric Circus  

8. Nightclub (Waiting for You)  

9. Life Was Easier When I Only Cared About Me  

10. Heaven Is A Place In My Head 

11. Silently Screaming 

12. Grace (I Think I'm In Love Again)  

13. Symphony Of Lights