Bad Suns has accomplished a great deal in their relatively short seven-year history. The quartet formed in Los Angeles in 2012, inspired and deeply influenced by the biggest Punk and Post Punk artists of the ’70s and ’80s, particularly the big C’s: Elvis Costello, The Clash and The Cure. The bulk of that influence came by way of lead vocalist/guitarist Christo Bowman’s father, who began playing records by those (and similarly geared) artists when Bowman started playing guitar at age 10. The band – Bowman, lead guitarist Ray Libby, bassist Gavin Bennett, drummer Miles Morris – began gigging around the L.A. area and then released their debut single, “Cardiac Arrest,” in 2013, which immediately went viral, a buzz that naturally attracted label interest.
Bad Suns settled on renowned indie label Vagrant and released their early 2014 debut EP Transpose, which featured some of the first songs that Bowman had ever written and exhibited the band’s knack for killer riffs and fist-shaking, foot-stomping anthemics along with a sly experimental streak that folded in faux Disco and danceable Pop elements. Just five months later, Bad Suns released their debut full length, Language & Perspective, which vaulted into the Top 25 of the Billboard 200 chart and earned the band an opening slot on tour with The 1975. The album was hailed by several critics as one of the year’s best releases, and the video for the single “Salt” was equally heralded for its sensitive portrayal of a transgendered woman’s struggle for identity and acceptance.
In 2016 Bad Suns released their second full-length, Disappear Here, a title that Bowman took from Bret Easton Ellis’ best-selling novel Less Than Zero. After touring the album relentlessly, Bad Suns took a yearlong vacation from one another and then announced in 2018 that they had signed with Epitaph Records. Bad Suns’ Epitaph debut, Mystic Truth, was released back in March to typically positive reviews. Bowman has cited the band’s sabbatical as a key component to the creation and success of Mystic Truth and has called it the band’s coming of age story, a triumphantly mature reaction to their early angsty doubts and fears.
Don’t miss the group live this week. Like the bands that inspired them, Bad Suns has successfully translated their blazing live energy to the studio, but the stage is still where their incendiary skills are best presented.
Catch the group this Friday, Sept. 13 at Oakley's 20th Century Theater with Liily and Ultra Q. Tickets/more info: the20thcenturytheatre.com.