BAD SCENE 1

An introduction, a mission statement, and 30 songs for your consideration.

Aug 28, 2025

Introductions are always somewhat awkward, but let’s give this our best go. My name’s Reece, I’m a music writer based Down Under and I’m taking the revolutionary step of launching a Substack. Am I the first music writer to ever do this? I assume so! If I’m wrong, you’ll have to subscribe to let me know in the comments.

I’ve been interviewing bands and artists for a while, and I’m hoping to do more of that here. It’s no secret that the architecture of music media is thoroughly broken, especially in this country, so it might be nice to be able to do some things on my terms.

If you’re new to my work, here are some of my personal favourite interviews of mine over the journey: SPEED, Jeff Rosenstock, Little Simz, Good Morning, 1300, Luca Brasi, and The Last Dinner Party. And if you’re an old friend, it’s nice to see you again, how’s the family?

BAD SCENE is a project I’ve been kicking around for a long time now, but I’m excited to finally pull the trigger (thanks to my very patient friends). Like anything new, it’ll find its identity over time, but the founding vision is good conversation with good artists, writing feature-length pieces with a rigour and passion that respects the readership.

We’re lucky in Australia to have so many flourishing acts, new and established, but there’s unfortunately a paucity of coverage that does their work justice. This isn’t a shot at anyone in particular, it’s just a tough economy and those helming publications have plenty of plates spinning at once.

That said, I want to write well and read even better, and hopefully this project can be a small part in fostering an ecosystem that encourages more people here to do the same. I love TikTok as much as the next person, but there’s a nuance and heart to the written word that I don’t think video can ever replace. Plenty of outlets feel otherwise, and I’d love for us to prove them wrong by making something that flourishes in this little corner of the internet.

I came to writing about music because of so many of the greats who inspired me, deepened my passions for the art I love, and helped me see the world in new and beautiful ways. A very non-exhaustive list, but I’m thinking of Lindsay Zoladz and Jeff Weiss and Kristen S. Hé. Outlets like cokemachineglow and VICE AU and Grantland. Articles like Hanif Abdurraqib reflecting on Carly Rae Jepsen’s EMOTION for MTV (tragically, relegated to the Wayback Machine) or Ta-Nehisi Coates going behind the mask on MF DOOM. And, yes, it’s a cliche but Lester Bangs versus Lou Reed, a read that gets more incredible with time.

We’ll get rolling with the interviews soon (publicists, hit me up). In the meantime, here’s an introduction to some of the music I’ve been enjoying lately. Consider it a tasting menu of what BAD SCENE is all about. If you like it, we might get along.

Bad Scene, Everyone’s Fault — Jawbreaker

The only song on this list that isn’t a recent release, but I can’t do an introduction without mentioning the inspiration for BAD SCENE’s name. For me , Jawbreaker is a formative band, and they remain vitally important because they remind me of the one question to always consider when evaluating a song: “Does this song rip?”

When Jawbreaker is involved, the answer is almost always yes.

The Beat — Angel Du$t

Have you just discovered Turnstile? Would you like to get slightly heavier without lurching into anything too scary? Can I introduce you to Justice Tripp, vocalist of Angel Du$t and author of the best tweet ever?

Hey You — The Belair Lip Bombs

There are few sounds sweeter than a band stepping out on their second record and smashing it out of the park. If ‘Hey You’ is any indication, we’re in for a treat of a sophomore effort from The Belair Lip Bombs. It’s is an unequivocal level up from Frankston’s finest, more crisp and assured than anything they’ve put out before. It builds patiently, something you can afford to do when you write this well, and kicks into gear when Maisie Everett nails the gear switch with a well-timed “Motherfucker, just say what you mean.” Already gutted to have missed them tearing it up at Old Bar.

Strobe — Armlock

Armlock are a Melbourne duo who make luscious guitar music on a spectrum that tends to fall between meditative and head-bobbing shoegaze. ‘Strobe’ lands firmly on the former end, and it’s a sonic delight. Armlock’s guitars sound like instruments of healing, and ‘Strobe’ is the latest in a growing line of quiet charmers in their catalogue.

INSTINCT — These New South Whales

Did These New South Whales wake up one day and decide they want to sell out an arena? Because this is the sort of song that sells out an arena. In a fair and just world, they’d already be global sensations for their brand of versatile punk, which sometimes has a ring of Ramones and other times leans grungier. Jamie Timony’s always been dynamic (just watch their short-lived YouTube talk show TUNSW Tonight!), but here he feels like an absolute livewire. And, if you’re not already sold, they’ve only gone and gotten the best video producer in the country in Passive Kneeling to cap off the visuals (strobe warning).

Slightly Below the Middle — Georgia Maq

In the press release for ‘Slightly Below the Middle’, Georgia Maq admits to feeling “shame and embarrassment” when looking back at her catalogue, which is sad because she’s put out plenty of stellar music. I’d say she’s her own harshest critic if she didn’t make the worst kinds of men self-immolate every time she makes a keystroke on the internet. Still, I’m glad Maq and I are both fans of her latest. Country-pop seems to be all the rage at the moment, but few voices are better suited to it than the quiet muscle in Maq’s smoky vocals. I love this one, it’s understated without ever drifting into the background.

Changes — Alien Boy

I hate the winter, but I love a cold night walk. There’s nothing better than a self-absorbed stroll with headphones on where you can revel in your melodrama, and allow yourself to be the main character devoid of inconveniencing anyone else with your narcissism. Please listen to it and try not to mimic Sonic Weber’s indelible hook “Changes got me feeling fucked up/Going me freaking out, like I’ll never be home again” back to yourself at some point in the next 24 hours.

Cowbella — bar italia

Some people see bar italia as the second coming of God, I am not one of those people. That makes it even more intriguing when one of their songs gets its hooks into me. ‘Cowbella’ has a lot of indie sleaze in it — is it sacrilege to say it has a bit of Dandy Warhols about it? It feels like bar italia are having a lot of fun on ‘Cowbella’, and I have fun when people are having fun (so long as they’re nice), so this one gets a big tick.

B A D I D E A — Militarie Gun

A few months back, I saw California’s own Militarie Gun battle bravely in front of a mostly disinterested crowd of ageing emos at a Touche Amore gig. Still, even the most sour-faced holdouts couldn’t resist the allure of ‘B A D I D E A’ when it hit. Frontman Ian Shelton embodied the song’s energy: skittering around the stage, wrestling with the mic stand like his life depends on it. The song runs 109 seconds, and each one feels like treading water in raging seas. And if that doesn’t win you over, at least stick around for the most fun spelling-related chorus this side of Chappell Roan.

Garden of the heart — Bootleg Baby, Sidney Phillips & lil ket

A bombshell revelation: sometimes. I like songs that don’t have guitars. Once upon a time, I briefly had a rap column. I’m a big fan of Sidney Phillips and lil ket, who sometimes thrive because they conjure up pockets amid a maelstrom of chaos, but I personally love it most when they’re gliding on tracks like this. Over Bootleg Baby’s quiet, stuttering drum and a piano loop, without much to hide behind, Sidney and ket do their thing in a way that creeps up on you. It’s affecting, charming and a big part of why I ride for both artists.

Shoutout Australian music media titan Ben Madden for putting me onto these two — I’d everyone you to subscribe to Spin To Win, but I’m near certain if you’re reading this then you already have.

Mermaid — Water Maze

Last year I went to Tokyo and stumbled across Water Maze, one of my favourite new bands, playing to about a dozen people in an upstairs living room. They’re messy and brash, crackling with the type of brilliance of some kids who don’t yet realise just how good they are. Their latest EP ‘PAST BEACH, FAST DREAM!’ feels like combing through the shrapnel of a cohesive project that was recorded then detonated before ever being released. ‘Mermaid’ is one of their most fun tracks yet, full of twists and turns that kept me grinning the whole way through. Sometimes they sounds like The Strokes, other times it sounds like they’re about to break your window.