The Upsides – “Very Bad Kids”
Photo by A L E X S. K. B R O W N
NYC four-piece The Upsides debut on the blog with the soaring indie rock cut “Very Bad Kids.”
“Very Bad Kids” is a great melodic song built to tear up a venue and rattle the bones. It is brimming with sublime guitar hooks, driven by widescreen, glassy, bell-like delay lead guitar that brings to mind 1980s U2. The feel, though, is more refined and more direct than The Edge’s more complex style. Underneath the driving guitar work, the rhythm section of bass and drums is rock solid. Great shifting drum patterns push and pull from indie disco to solid stadium rock.
On playing “Very Bad Kids” on repeat for a while, I was trying to think of who The Upsides sound like. Yes, there are hints of The Killers, The Vaccines, The Bravery, Interpol and The Strokes in the way this tune is unbelievably catchy and atmospheric. It’s built for radio, and that ain’t a bad thing! It will undoubtedly please fans of those acts, but those comparisons still fall short of the mark when describing their chameleonic sound. Three out of five of those bands are from New York so maybe there is something in the water in the north east of America.
As for the vocal, there is a strong Richard Ashcroft vibe that permeates the verses. The performance is rooted in the same conversational phrasing that oozes a raw, yearning, soulful tenor that Ashcroft is known for. It is the perfect complement to the lyrics that deal with feelings of being lost but presenting an outward projection of being successful and okay. But through the melancholy, there is something uplifting as well, and nowhere is this more evident than in the anthemic choruses.
The luminous and magnetic, “Very Bad Kids” is out now via Dream Wolf Records. Connect with The Upsides: Spotify | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Bandcamp | Website
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