Bad Moves – Untenable

Washington D.C. power pop four-piece Bad Moves is an upbeat dose of fun loving good times.  Simple toe tapping, head bobbing, infectious riffs make the band’s tunes easy on the uptake while maintaining the nuances of their indie-punk allegiance.  The band’s sophomore full length, Untenable, is a strong follow-up to their sugary debut, but this time with a little less sweetener.  The band describes the album’s mildly darker tones as a product of digging deeper in their songwriting, reflecting on themes of personal instability, born from a world that subtly beats you down through social media pressures, precarious work and unachievable expectations.

The album opens with the rhythmic march of “Local Radio,” rolling in a steady controlled beat that shows the band at their most lock-stepped.  The pseudo deadpan delivery makes for a clear sense of escalation leading up to the following track, “Night Terrors,” in which vocalist Katie Park ups their “oomph” and expression alongside a sweet but dissonant array of vibrant chords.  In such tracks, as echoed in “Working for Free,” Bad Moves doesn’t hesitate to pair a side of scratchy and patchiness along with their underlying sweetness.  Some fusion of influences like Worriers and Cayetana make for a natural comparison.  

While the band tends to relate to those on the cusp of retreating from public life, they aren’t without a sense of hope and resolve. For instance, “Party With the Kids Who Wanna Party With You” builds a singable chorus around the idea of surrounding yourself with real friends – the type that you don’t need to earn the approval of to reciprocate that title with.  “Fog Is A Funny Thing” takes aim at times when circumstances suggest that you “should seem much rosier,” but you can’t quite build up the strength needed.  Rather than dwell on negativity, the band washes this moment in the optimism of a catchy song.  With a chorus that no sooner introduces the topic as it does take ownership of the ailments, Bad Moves invites listeners for a peppy ride of resiliency.  The band echoes the sentiment in the album’s final head bopping send off, “End of Time,” in which the band proclaims that in spite of all the doom and gloom, they’re “still having a good time.”  In many ways, Bad Moves defines themselves as a part of a new wave of clumsy optimism as seen in recent outlooks and offerings by A.W. and Best-Ex.

Untenable is anchored in realism, but don’t let that confuse you with being pessimistic.  Despite the challenging topics, the band’s tendency for sweet melodies comes across as an authentic resistance to mounting social tensions.  Personal well-being coated in optimism encourages listeners to tactfully navigate their way around personal obstacles, making healthy choices rather than succumbing to external pressures.  But at its core, Untenable is a fun listen that shows that Bad Moves is willing to push themselves beyond the power-pop status quo.