If you haven’t heard of the Southern Californian band Bad Cop Bad Cop, then you are truly missing out on a top tier, female punk powerhouse. They sit at the crossroads of ‘90s skate punk and modern melodic punk. The band returns louder than ever with their fourth full-length and newest album titled Lighten Up. The album offers up 10 tracks of searing punk rock that you’ve come to love from the seasoned group.
The lyrics touch on life’s hard-won victories and hard-fought losses. It’s amazing what the human spirit can overcome when adversity turns its ugly head. The band is not wanting you to focus on everything that is going wrong in this world, but to focus on what is going right and to “lighten up”. The vocals are full of spirit and emotion no matter who’s taking the lead. They draw you in with each gravelly plea for you to grow and move on while running head on into real life issues.
The music and musicianship on this release are some of the best that the band has ever released. The production is crisp and clean while still giving you the grit you want from punk rock. That is mainly in part with the band working with veteran producer Antoine Arvizu (Sublime, Ryan Bingham). After tracking the instruments, the band spent 10 12-hour days recording the vocals. With the help of John E. Carey Jr. (NOFX, Get Dead), it shows in the recording that this was a focus. The lead vocals and background harmonies are a highlight on this album for me.
The band even creeps into newer territory in sections of songs with hints of jazz or even dub on a few tracks. While that may sound like a far departure from normal, it works in these songs because they always ultimately return to that sweet spot. The songs feel elevated and genuine in their song writing. There’s even a ballad (“See Me Now”) that’s in the middle of the album for you to rest your ears while traveling through the songs.
This is a solid release like you’d expect from seasoned vets of the scene. The band has perfected hook driven, melodic punk. If you love bands like The Bombpops, Pennywise, and the punk side of The Interrupters, you need the band in your rotation. My top three tracks off this release would have to be “Dead Friends” (melodic guitars and hooks), “I4NI” (fast with singalongs), and “Human Is Human” (catchy and foot tapping).
