Melbourne emo punk luminaries Bad Juju have released their debut EP Hidden Desire last Friday, and we’re adoring its effortless blend of warm emo textures, hooky choruses and it’s ability to get a little bit dark and chaotic without losing its sentimental charm.

To celebrate the release, and get a little more acquainted with the band, we thought we’d get them to dive deep into their biggest inspirations!

Watch Bad Juju’s ‘Moving On’:

Superheaven 

Their album ‘Ours is chrome’ was a big influence on us. The album takes me back to the grunge sound I listened to growing up and brings on a massively nostalgic vibe. 

We all love the overall sound of this record. The guitars and drums are huge and we wanted to create something that sounded as big as this record does. The lyrics throughout the record feel very honest and that’s one thing I really wanted to do on our own record. 

Our favourite tracks by Superheaven are ‘I’ve Been Bored’, ‘In On It’ and ‘Life In A Jar’ because they are full of great riffs that we can’t get enough of. 

Citizen 

Citizen was definitely a band that influenced the creation of this EP. Their sound, their song structures, the musicianship that comes across when you listen to a record from start to finish. They have been consistently great since they released ‘Youth’. 

That record really resonates with a few members of this band and was generally on repeat around the time we were writing for ‘Hidden Desire’. There are great guitar and bass progressions, hooks and melodies that are backed up by some solid drums. The most important thing is that a lot of those songs are loved by so many people who scream out the lyrics at their shows and that is something we dreamed about for Bad Juju. 

For us, creating music that we loved but was also easy to sing along to was important because I love singing along to Citizen in my car all the time. Favourite tracks would be ‘How Does It Feel’, ‘Figure You Out’, and ‘Ring Of Chain’.

-Abe

The Story So Far 

When we were putting together our single ‘Moving On’ from our EP i really wanted to put together a catchy, fun, pop punk/punk rock chorus melody. These guys were the perfect inspiration for that. It’s hard to listen to songs like ‘Nerve’ and ‘Heavy Bloom’ without singing along and nodding your head to the beat. 

 I recently caught their set at Download Festival in Melbourne and the energy on stage and in the crowd was amazing. That’s something that we strive to achieve with our live performance and are inspired by.

 -Russ

Basement 

 Basement have that grunge emo rock sound that we loved so much growing up and became attached to. They really nail it too. So many catchy singalong lyrics and songs that make you want to bang your head. 

Guitars with thick, fuzzy distortion, clear and articulate bass guitar and drums that are smashed hard and rock are what we love and Basement deliver this so hard. 

The biggest influence from Basement aside from the sound would be the shades that they write into their music. Heavy grunge parts are compliment by softer instrumental guitar riffs and sections before going back into a heavy, banging chorus. Example of this is in ‘Aquasun’. 

Giving depth and some ebb and flow to the music really creates an enjoyable time for the listener, like they’re taken on a bit of a journey. Some favourite tracks from Basement would be ‘Aquasun’, ‘Covet’, ‘Submission’ and ‘Whole’.

Balance and Composure

 Another band that nail the emo rock and grunge combo. We really love the sound they create. You can really feel the emotion coming through in the sound of each song by the way the instruments are played and in how the vocals set the mood.

 The guitar effects that they use create a great atmosphere, for example, in ‘Tiny Raindrop’ the effects give the song a lot of depth and pull you in. The vocal effects in ‘Postcard’ assist in this as well, and further immerse you in their sound. 

 We wanted to create an atmosphere on our record that pulled you in and made you feel the emotions of the songs, and these guys were a great influence for us on how to achieve that. Other songs we love by these guys include ‘Body Language’ and ‘Reflection’.

The article was originally published on Don't Bore Us