Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By The Badloves, Independent 2020.
Western Australian band The Badloves continue their revival with the release of their latest single, Tribal.
The Band became household names during the ‘90s pub rock live music scene, touring the country relentlessly.
It was their massive hit, Green Limousine, from their debut album that firmly planted them at the top of the charts.
That album, Get On Board, spent 69 weeks in the charts and won three ARIA awards.
It’s been 30 years since those heady days, and the band spent some time in hibernation but they returned in 2019 with a great new single, Soulbrothertruckin’song, which I reviewed noting that the band still had what it takes.
The song received widespread radio coverage and charted well.
Many reviewers expressed their pleasure at hearing the Badloves bluesy grooves and Spiby’s wonderful soulful voice back on the airways.
Songwriter Michael Spiby explains that this new song, Tribal, came from a recurring dream.
He says, “I don’t usually remember dreams, they’re so hard to catch, but often enough I wake up disturbed by this one recurring theme… how will I keep my little tribe together in tough times? Am I up to the task?”
I suppose it’s a question that many band leaders have been asking themselves lately.
The pandemic has certainly forced musicians to re-evaluate how they work and earn a living in such troubling times.
COVID has certainly sped up the move toward digital performance and we know that live performance venues in many cities have been under threat for some time due to a variety of factors including noise complaints.
The Badloves made their name as a live band, one of the best in the country, but like everyone else they were forced to launch the single via live stream.
