Badge
If it Hurts it Must be Good

Swedish trio Badge return with the revelation that if something hurts it must be good, so this can’t be that great as it doesn’t hurt very much to listen to it. And neither did the predecessor that I reviewed for Hallowed some four years ago, and the band hasn’t really changed that much either as this album sounds fairly similar to what I reviewed those four years ago. Hardcore blues is what they call it themselves, inspired by the blues of old but perhaps even more so by Led Zeppelin as it reminds me very, very much of what I have heard from Led Zeppelin. And then we have concluded that bluesy hardrock is their forte, but is it worthwhile?

The answer to the question is that it depends, if you like old Led Zeppelin you will like this. It is old school but with a fresh touch, a bit of a sense of ambivalence in that regard. Not the freshest album I have heard in terms imagination and originality – it is hard to shake the feeling that they want to be Led Zeppelin, but the thing is that Led Zeppelin’s time has already come and gone and if they wanted to be really relevant with this album they should have done it during that era. Still, the energy is powerful and genuine, the have lots of grunt in their music, and a dirty sensation with strong vocals. The energy is their strongest point, and the album is also short and to the point with decent variation over the tracks. Good stuff! is a reflection that I have when I listen to this album.

What I can miss though is a really strong hit song, one that really makes you want to return to the album and one that defines it. This is missing on this album even though there are some strong tracks like the opener and the fourth track In the Eye of the Storm, but there are also some weaker tracks on the album, a little bit up and down is one way to describe how this new album from Badge sounds. I think the energy and their drive is their biggest asset, while the lack of creative thinking is their greatest weakness. But overall I think that this is a good album that should be worth a look for those who wants to live in the past.

I on the other hand think that the only thing that was better in the past than today is that there was no social media and no cell phones, music was generally not better and I prefer more modern stuff. Badge will probably appeal to their target audience but I am not so sure that they will have any wider appeal than that, they should have done a more painful album – that is my lasting impression.

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