Record Review: Bad Cop

by | Dec 1, 2010 | Reviews

Bad Cop
Harvest the Beast
Nashville, TN

“Brash, psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll exuberance”From the opening riff on “Amores Perros” to the closing drum fade on “Control,” Bad Cop’s Harvest the Beast is 30 minutes of brash, psychedelic rock n’ roll exuberance. The Nashville trio’s debut is filled with the kind of youthful abandon that only sub-21-year-olds can capture, but this excitement is matched with a musical maturity that gives their songs a weight beyond their years.

Most of this depth is courtesy of lead singer/keyboardist Adam Anyone’s vocals, most of which are heavily processed throughout Harvest. While this technique can be grating in other contexts, the combination of Anyone’s filtered voice and the rest of Bad Cop’s rough-around-the-edges sound makes for a potent mix. Percussionist Kharl Merkley and guitarist Alexander Hartness provide a solid foundation, particularly Hartness’s arpeggiated chord play and sharp changes.
All of these ingredients make for an impressive debut, especially for a band that formed a little over a year ago. If songs like the loose, catchy “Daylight” or the tighter but no less unpredictable “Judas the Snake” are any indication, Bad Cop is poised for big things. Harvest the Beast is not a mere jumping-off point, but an accomplishment in and of itself. (ROIR)

Produced and recorded by Jeremy Ferguson // Engineered by Bert Stone

www.myspace.com/badcopnashville