ThisIsTheMusic

Super Bad Athlete is the debut album from Oklahoma City indie rockers Bad Athlete and is released on Friday 23rd July.  

The album features 10 songs, including the 3 brilliant singles released in 2021 Do You Want Me Now?; Don’t Call Me Friend; Waste My Time. 

Waste My Time Starts off with a heavy grunge sounding guitar riff, brilliant vocal harmonies and is a real upbeat and catchy song. The theme of the song is about love, spending your time with that person and not having a care in the world; but also acknowledging that this romance could be short lived. Check out those handclaps in the finish!  “It’s alright if im wasting my time, I’m gonna waste my time with you”

Don‘t Call Me Friend: This song has a real groove to it thanks to the rumbling bass line we hear in the opening bars. Kristen Howard takes the lead vocal on this track. She has an amazing and heartfelt vocal which suits this song perfectly. The song includes atmospheric synths, giving the song an 80s vibe. “Baby don’t call me fake”

The Light of a Different Sun starts off as  a slower acoustic ballad, before exploding into life with a thumping bassline, an exquisite drumming pattern and mid-song a stadium rock style guitar riff. 

Numb is a great indie-pop song, with brilliant guitar playing including a soaring guitar riff in the middle 8. As the title suggests, this is a sad song, discussing rejection. “I‘m numb, not good enough anymore”

Waiting So Long is a real energetic and uptempo song, with great vocal harmonies in the chorus.  

Oh Darlin’ has a cool 50s vibe about it  (I just have Enchantment Under The Sea dance from Back To The Future in my head  – younger readers may have to ask their Dad). A song for the lovers out there. “I’ve been waiting for a girl like you, won’t you say you want me too”

Great Escape picks the pace up, with a Killers style intro thanks to the synths. Vocal duties are shared by Matt and Kristen, they really complement each other superbly well! The middle 8 has a great guitar riff, which leads itself into some fuzzy guitar feedback and the big bouncing drums. “You know my heart can get lost in you”

Do You Want Me Now? Starts off with  a thumping bassline, before a soaring guitar riff kicks in, giving  the song a real energy. Lyrically the song is in direct contract to Waste My Time,  with the lyrics asking “Do You Want Me Now” The outro is epic, building and building until all instruments just stop in unison. 

Someday, heavy rock style guitars start this song off, supported with a rumbling bass line that really drives the song on. 

See You Tonight The perfect ending to an album. Stadium rock style guitar riffs, tempo bounces from slow to fast, big pounding and, towards the end frantic drums and a real energetic vibe about it.

Super Bad Athlete is a fantastic record, with each song telling a story about love and rejection. The music is really tight and is a record that as soon as you’ve finished it, you will be pressing repeat on your device! 

Super Bad Athlete is out on 23.7.21 on all streaming platforms 

Follow Bad Athlete on their socials here: Instagram; Twitter; and Spotify.