“ It ’ s more the ethos of other bands that we try to carry around , I don ’ t think you could listen to us and say “ oh that ’ s The Ramones ”, we don ’ t consciously write with influences in mind ” says Bird , and this is obvious . The band carry a retro sound but never sound outdated , someone who grew up with punk can enjoy them just as much as someone who ’ s never heard it before . This is seen right down to the artwork on their releases , their debut album cover drawing comparisons to ‘ London Calling ’ by The Clash , yet it is already a classic cover in its own right , fitting on T-shirts just as well as the most famous band imagery around . “ We kind of all hated that art work , we didn ’ t know what else to do we just stuck our name round the edge , put an image in the middle , but now we all love it .” “ We ’ re the future of music and we ’ re just fucking around !” “ For me it ’ s like a live album ” Bird summarises , speaking of their 27-minute , balls to the walls debut that never lets up . The band even plays several sets with the album track list going start to finish ; everything is about energy with
these guys , not order or perfection . “ It ’ s accidentally the perfect album for streaming , which is ironic as we ’ re all so out of touch with that . I want us to be the first band with no social media ” says Bird . “ Our guitarist played with the price tag on his guitar for a year and a half and people asked us if we were doing a bit , but we just thought it looked cool ” says Poulton while discussing how Bird is nearly always playing with his sunglasses on , coming from watching Joe Strummer as a kid and again , simply thinking it looked cool . And despite a lack of trying , this band is the definition of cool , a band who look timeless and are yet such genuine people , something so many artists try and fail at . Bad Nerves have realised it ’ s the lack of trying itself that ’ s what works . “ I was crowd surfing the other day and anyone could have taken them , though I ’ d just smack them . Put “ he ’ s hard ”, that ’ s the headline !” laughs Bird . “ Everything ’ s just so nice now , when you see a band just letting loose on stage , when it ’ s just energy , that ’ s it for me . We want to be an approachable band , when we see someone covering us on YouTube or whatever , it ’ s mind-blowing ” Bird reveals . And despite the sunglasses , despite these guys being the coolest people in the room , interviewing this band feels more like having a drink with friends , and onstage they ’ re just mates having fun . “ We ’ re the future of music and we ’ re just fucking around !” They both laugh and yet you can ’ t help but feel they are the future , and when a band like this is the future , it ’ s hard not to be excited about it . Bad Nerves the album is out now .
Photo Credits ; Jazz Hodge . Bad Nerves PR Manager