EP Review: Bad Luck. – Drug Phase

After a flurry of activity in 2014/15 which saw the release of the full-length albums Cold Bones and Noise In Your Head, New York’s Bad Luck dropped off the radar and did other things. Well, they are back with something of a mighty bang. Drug Phase is a six-track EP that is a bold and confident reboot. Immediately likeable and full of uplifting hooks, this EP is an infectious mix of power pop punk (Impressive Depressive, Mean Dudes, Drug Phase, Wish We Still Talked) and more introspective, lighter moments (Sheep Song and the mostly acoustic P.S. Wiffle Ball). And all executed in under 16 minutes in total. It is this change of gear and occasional and mildly disconcerting unexpected chord changes that keep this at the edgier end of the alt rock spectrum. And that’s a good thing and certainly doesn’t mean that Bad Luck can’t do uniformly beautiful pop music. You just get the feeling that they don’t want to. Not all the time anyway.

There is plenty of passion and emotion in this record and a sense of unloading that must be the result of the long hiatus. The changes of musical style also point to a desire to be truthful in their songcraft and to express themselves without compromising in terms of genre. Highlight of this recording is the magnificent title track, which encapsulates the dynamics and the manifesto of the whole EP in one song: “No more drugs, I guess,” hints perhaps at the reasons behind the absence.

Drug Phase feels like a full-length album, such is the richness of its musical tapestry. Hopefully, this is a precursor to a more sustained presence and bigger things. And bonus points for incorporating whistling.

Drug Phase is released today by Take This To Heart Records and can be purchased and streamed here