Bad Sounds

Emerging from Bath in the U.K., indie pop group Bad Sounds escaped the underground via their catchy, brass-sampling 2016 track Wages, a cut that sat between the Go! Team and Rat Boy in style. Brothers Callum and Ewan Merritt launched the project in 2014 after growing up amid constant music at home and each logging time in local bands. Callum later relocated to London for work as a recording engineer, while Ewan remained in Bath, diving into hip-hop and crafting beats. Once Callum came back, the siblings saw how merging their separate tastes could yield something distinctive. Their first release, the 2016 single "Wages," quickly drew notice from BBC Radio DJ Annie Mac. The following year they inked a deal with Sony’s Insanity Records imprint and issued the EP Mixtape One. Around the same period the project expanded into a full band when Charlie Pitt on bass, Sam Hunt on guitar, and Olivia Dimery on drums were added to strengthen the live presentation; all three later joined as permanent members. In 2018 the outfit unveiled its debut album Get Better, an eclectic blend drawing from Odelay-era Beck, 70's funk and soul, and Flaming Lips-esque psychedelics.