Bad//Dreems (Australian rock band)

Bad Dreems (stylised as Bad//Dreems) were an Australian rock band from Adelaide, South Australia. The band was co-founded in 2011 by lead vocalist Ben Marwe, lead guitarist Alex Cameron, bassist James Bartold and drummer Miles Wilson. Rhythm guitarist Ali Wells joined the band in 2017, having toured with the band since 2014, while Bartold departed the band in 2022 and was replaced by Deon Slaviero. The band first formed in 2011, releasing their debut EP in 2013. They released five studio albums to date, with all of them reaching the top 40 on the ARIA charts. The group performed alongside the likes of Midnight Oil, DMA's, the Scientists and the Chats, and have toured internationally on numerous occasions. Bad//Dreems were formed in the middle of 2011, after guitarist Alex Cameron had moved back to Adelaide following a stint in Melbourne as a member of indie-rock band Dardanelles. While playing at a local football club, Cameron crossed paths with Ben Marwe, with whom he began writing songs. Soon, the pair were joined by drummer Miles Wilson and bassist James Bartold, who had both played with Marwe's brother Wolfgang in the now-defunct band The Shiny Brights. Originally adopting the name Young'n, the group officially solidified their original lineup in August 2011, playing a small handful of shows around their native Adelaide and honing their skills in a warehouse next to the West End Brewery. Influenced by an array of Australian artists from the '70s and '80s, including The Saints, Paul Kelly, and The Go-Betweens, as well New Zealand artists from the Flying Nun Records label, and similarly styled groups from the US, including the Wipers and The Replacements, Bad//Dreems' musical style was initially dubbed "outsider rock" by the press, though the group have since distanced themselves from this classification. Working with Johnny Mackay of Children Collide, Bad//Dreems recorded their first songs towards the end of 2011, releasing debut single "Chills" (paired with B-side, "Close2God") on 3 January 2012. In July 2012, Bad//Dreems released their next single, "Too Old". The following month, the group embarked on their first large-scale tour of the country, performing across Australia with Dune Rats as the main support acts for Children Collide during their Monument album tour. Throughout the end of 2012 and the start of 2013, Bad//Dreems began working with Paul "Woody" Annison to record their debut EP, Badlands. Released in July 2013 via independent label Mirador Records, Badlands featured a re-recorded version of debut single "Chills", along with a handful of other singles, including "Tomorrow Mountain" and "Caroline", which were issued as singles. In December 2013, Bad//Dreems were named as part of triple j Unearthed's annual Next Crop list, appearing alongside the likes of The Bennies, Cosmo's Midnight, and Gang Of Youths. Across 2014, Bad//Dreems played dozens of live shows, performing alongside names such as Regurgitator, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Violent Soho, the Scientists and Cosmic Psychos. In March 2014, the group performed one of their largest shows to date, appearing at the Clipsal 500 concert series on the same bill as Empire Of The Sun and Kimbra. The following month, the band announced the release of new single "Dumb Ideas" and their subsequent signing to Ivy League Records. The single was recorded in Melbourne with producer Mark Opitz, best known for his work with Australian acts such as INXS, Cold Chisel, and The Angels, and was issued as a double A-side 7" single with "My Only Friend" in August 2014. In October 2014, Bad//Dreems embarked on their first US tour, performing eight shows between Los Angeles and New York City, and playing alongside bands such as Tkay Maidza, Dune Rats and Cloud Nothings. For these US shows, guitarist Ali Wells played in Alex Cameron's stead due to his commitments as a surgeon. Wells would later repeat this in May 2015 during the group's debut UK tour, and would later occasionally step in at live shows for several years to play rhythm guitar – in turn, freeing up Marwe to focus solely on vocals. In August 2015, the group released their debut album, Dogs at Bay. The record, recorded with both Opitz and Colin Wynne, debuted at #33 on the ARIA charts, and in 2021, was named in the "Honourable Mentions" section of Rolling Stone Australia's list of the 'Greatest Australian Albums of All Time'. In September 2015, the group played a headline show at Adelaide venue Fowler's Live which was recorded and released by local record label Rad Jams Exchange. The following month, the group made their debut as part of triple j's Like a Version series, performing a cover of The Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face" with guest vocals from Isabella Manfredi from Sydney outfit The Preatures. In November 2015, The Go-Betweens' Robert Forster guest-programmed an episode of Australian music programme Rage, broadcasting Bad//Dreems' "My Only Friend" and describing the track as "a masterpiece of Australian rock". Two years later, Forster would join the band during their performance at the Splendour in the Grass festival, playing the song with the band, along with a version of The Go-Betweens' "Spring Rain". In 2016, Bad//Dreems returned to the studio with Opitz and Wynne to record their second album, Gutful. The band gave fans their first taste of the new album in October 2016, sharing lead single "Mob Rule". The track was critical of racist attitudes throughout Australia, and was described as "painting a disturbing picture of dystopic Australia with pure pub rock perfection". In February 2017, the band shared their next single, "Feeling Remains". The single was also accompanied by a video which saw Bad//Dreems joined by former Recovery host Dylan Lewis as they performed a set in the style of the long-defunct programme. Bad//Dreems released Gutful in April 2017, with the record debuting at #23 on the ARIA charts. In an interview released alongside the record, guitarist Alex Cameron explained that Gutful saw the band trying to push towards more of '70s-influenced post-punk sound, with the focus being that of capturing the group in their live element with little additional production. Later in 2017, Bad//Dreems were chosen as one of the support acts for the Adelaide leg of Midnight Oil's Great Circle tour, with the band opening Midnight Oil's first South Australian performance in 15 years alongside Spiderbait. Also in 2017, Wells was inducted as a full-time member of Bad//Dreems, expanding the line-up officially to a five-piece. 2018 served as an uncharacteristically quiet year for Bad//Dreems, with the group performing less than ten public shows throughout the year. Towards the end of the year, the group entered Adelaide's Twin Earth Recording with Burke Reid and Jack Ladder to begin the recording of their third album. In May 2019, the group were announced as the latest signing to Wollongong label Farmer And The Owl ahead of the release of their new album, with lead single "Double Dreaming" released just weeks later. The release of the single coincided with the band's second UK tour, which also featured two support performances for Midnight Oil during the band's appearances at the O2 Apollo in Manchester and the O2 Academy in Brixton. In October 2019, the group released their third album, Doomsday Ballet, with the record hitting #38 on the ARIA charts, and becoming their third consecutive release to chart within the top 40. In an interview conducted in support of the album, guitarist Alex Cameron explained that the record had emerged from roughly 100 different demos. Meanwhile, a separate interview saw drummer Miles Wilson allude to a stylistic shift within the record's sound, explaining that the band's motto within the studio had been "less pub, more art", indicating a concerted effort to avoid being pigeonholed within the pub rock genre. In November 2019, Bad//Dreems again appeared as part of triple j's Like A Version series, this