The musical chemistry runs hot through LA-based experimental indie band badsoma. Offering an airy, dream-like ambience to their unique and delicate sound, these qualities flow through their new tastefully poignant EP, kicking and screaming, which released July 26th, 2024, less than a year after the band’s debut.
A melancholic reflection of the loved and the lost, “when no one’s around” as an EP start solidifies the band’s cultivated and graceful unpredictability. A gentle, yet emotionally heavy piano prgoression carries the song’s somber tones, as feminine vocal harmonies dot the I’s of the soft, mournful lead. While there’s a clear forward-looking undertone in the song’s lyricism, its bleak timbre matches the human condition, feeling the hard waves despite enjoying the ocean.
Just as “when no one’s around” fades out with a singular voice calling, “Make something of yourself,” a grooving bass line and smooth jazz synth switch up the sound to a giddy jive in “the stranger,” sure to be the highlight of the EP. An existentialist motif flows through the tune, revisiting the uninvited visitor that is intrusive thoughts. Pleasantly decorating the often displeasing, the track brings an instrumentally flourishing and refreshing smile that provoking thoughts don’t typically bring.
Melodic twists and harmonious turns make up the composition of the EP, and badsoma is sure to complete that cycle with closing track, “all i wanted to see,” a glistening arrangement packed with sparking synth, gliding guitar solos, and subtly rasped vocals.
Their excellently placed dissonance brings the listener to their feet while still arrested in place by its moving impact. Reminiscent of Radiohead and Tame Impala, “all i wanted to see” builds to reach its final words, where the indietronica shines through with raw yet robotic vocals meeting to powerfully complement each other.
New and old friends Armin Fard, Starlit Eyes, Donny Segien, Braden Rose, Ana Léon, and Lindsey Hamilton kicked off the project in September 2023, and have performed stage after stage ever since. Lucas T Flood gave badsoma the closing slot in April 2024’s Not Another Showcase, held at the coveted Hotel Cafe in LA.
A distinctive collection of two guitars, bass, violin, synth, and drums, badsoma saw its debut singles “Honey Locust Trees” and “Heat and Disorder” give listeners a successfully received glance at the band’s creative uniqueness. The group took that taste and made its elegance take fruition with kicking and screaming, making their music scene entrance with a sprinting start.
