Ryan Adams has labelled them “the best band in the world at this very moment” and they’ve just wrapped dates with Best Coast. Fuzzy guitars, raw drums and burly pop riffs: Nashville four-piece Bully bring their joyous pop-punk to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane for three special summer headline shows in December 2015. The band will be in town to visit for Meredith Music Festival (December 11 – 13).
Last year NME name-checked Bully as one of their ‘artists to watch’ in 2015 and it was a prediction of big things to come. Led by songwriter Alicia Bognanno (vocals/guitar), alongside band Stewart Copeland (drums), Clayton Parker (guitar), and Reece Lazarus (bass), Bully have delivered on the promise of their self-titled 2014 EP with the excellent Feels Like – their 10 track, self-produced and self-recorded debut album. Sounding alternately like a balled fist and a fresh bruise, Bully have won over fans across the US, UK and beyond thanks to killer tracks like ‘Trying’, ‘Trash’, ‘Milkman’ and ‘I Remember’ perfectly capturing youthful spirit and Bognanno’s euphoric screams, with praise from sites like Stereogum, Pitchfork and many more.
Recorded live at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studio in Chicago (where Bully’s heroes like the Breeders, Liz Phair, Superchunk and the Stooges have recorded), Bognanno recorded and engineered the album, having previously worked at the studio as an intern. (“If everybody in the studio worked as hard as Alicia then everybody’s records would be number one hits,” Albini later told NME.) Bognanno’s other day jobs included a sound tech spot at cult Nashville club the Stone Fox – and the band’s formidable, frenetic live guitar power comes through bright and clear on record.
“Sometimes I wonder if people think I’m a complete mess,” Bognanno says of the album’s heart-on-sleeve openness, part of Bully’s charm. “It’s not easy to put yourself out there, but it’s true. Everyone goes through shit like that.”
Hailing from Melbourne and joining Bully on their Australian East Coast dates are the Rolling Blackouts – a soft punk/tough pop group influenced by golden age Australian guitar music.
To celebrate this killer tour, we’re giving Tone Deaf readers the chance to score a double pass to the show of their choice. Enter your details below to win.
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