Bad Wig – Bad Wig (EP Review, Stream, Live Video)
by Steven Spoerl
[EDITOR’S NOTE: With the site now entering emergency year-end catch-up mode thanks to the cruel, mocking nature of time, tonight’s trio of posts will simply be short reviews of the album(s) in the headline(s) and an accompanying list of records that deserve to be heard.]
Earlier this year Bad Wig were still flying underneath the banner of The Midwestern Charm. Just after signing to Texas Is Funny, member departures and an accompanying shift in style facilitated a name change and the band’s not showing any desire to look back. All of that tumultuous internal terrain’s somehow translated into propulsive momentum and Bad Wig‘s the proof. “Stargazer“, a song that predated the name change and merely existed as a demo for The Midwestern Charm’s principal songwriter, Connor La Mue.
Despite being unattached to any project at the time, “Stargazer” earned a mountain of praise from this site while foreshadowing what was to come. The band’s now a trio and La Mue and fellow Midwestern Charm member Ryan McCrary now share vocal duties, each bringing a fiercely engaging approach that suggests they’ve been spending a lot of time picking up cues from the neighbors in Midnight Reruns and (especially) Tenement. Lo-fi, battered, and gritty as hell, this demo EP- released as a limited-run cassette- is one of 2015’s finest releases.
Listen to Bad Wig below and pick it up here. Below the embed, explore some live videos of the band performing songs from the EP and a collection of some of the best full streams to surface over the past several months.
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Pouty – Take Me To Honey Island
Vicky Speedboat – Two Years No Basement
☺- Boosegumps
Kississippi – We Have No Future, We’re All Doomed
Pool Holograph – Mortals
See Through Dresses – End of Days
Daddy Issues – Fuck Marry Kill
Adir L.C. – Oceanside Cities
Nigel Hall – Ladies & Gentleman…
Soldiers of Fortune – Early Risers
Crusher – Demo
Intertwine – Goraikoo
chipmunkson16speed – Sludgefest
dæphne – Full Circle
Daniel Menche & Mammifer – Crater
Penny Lame – Penny Lame
Busdriver – Thumbs
Go Deep – Influence
S.M. Wolf – Neon Debris
Keita Juma – Nights In Space A Short Film
KwolleM – Mellow
High Bloom – Haloed
Granny – Egg
Heartbreaking Bravery 
[…] and working to a reprisal of the Bad Wig footage that was contained in the recent review of their EP, there’s a lot of ground to cover. Included in that range are the videos from the first sets […]
[…] Before Bad Wig was Bad Wig, they were The Midwestern Charm, an act that worked their way from a sound that fell closer in line to Ryan Adams to crafting a record that fit better alongside the likes of The Lemonheads. A few member changes and stylistic shifts later, they’d carved out a new identity under their new name. Their introductory act is ferociously ragged and maybe even a little audacious. Most everything else there is to be said about this brilliant collection of punk-tinged micro-pop gems can was covered in last week’s review. […]
[…] Eyes (Album Review, Stream) HB713: Milk Crimes – Milk Crimes (EP Review, Stream) HB714: Bad Wig – Bad Wig (EP Review, Stream, Live Video) HB715: Beliefs – Colour of Your Name (Stream) HB716: Bruising – Honey (Stream) HB717: […]