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Band Of The Week // BAD NERVES

With pummelling percussion and a break-neck intensity, the high-wired new single, Palace, from Bad Nerves is sure to shock and jolt with its punchiness.

Bad Nerves 2020

East London quintet Bad Nerves are quite a handful of energy; between them, they create some irresistibly raucous and cacophonous punk music that feels like a dose of adrenaline injected straight into your veins. With an unrelenting drive and ferocious vocals, the band runs at 100 miles per hour for the whole of Palace, teetering right on the edge of reckless insanity but in the catchiest way possible. There’s a thrill as you hold your breath, waiting for the whole enterprise to come cascading down as it overshoots, but the band skilfully holds it together for the whole track and leaves you feeling overcharged and fired up.

Speaking more on the lyrical inspiration behind the track, vocalist Bobby Nerves says:

While I was living in London I met so many different characters whenever I left the house. It was quite apparent how many people were struggling. I guess you see that in every city, but I wondered if the people who seem to have everything could do more to help those with nothing? I would wonder how many homeless people could fit in Buckingham Palace? Are the doors even open? This track was really an observation of the disparity between the wealthy and the not so wealthy mixed with thoughts of escape and wanting to run away and see the world. London made me realise that I didn’t want to stay in one place for too long. The longer you stay somewhere, the more of a fishbowl it becomes… and there is definitely something fishy going on at Buckingham Palace.

Feeling sparked by their feverish energy, we spoke with the band a bit more about what drives them, and their suspicions on the fishy things going on in Buckingham Palace.

What’s a motto you live by?

Do shit you enjoy cause you’re running out of time.

If you could set Palace to a movie or TV show, what would it be the soundtrack for?

Peepshow. Because I love that show. Or some kind of expose on the Royal Family with Philomena Cunk presenting.

If your sound had a colour, what colour would it be?

Some kind of bright green and pink because of Elvis and the Clash rule.

Bobby mentioned that he met a lot of different types of characters when living in London. If the band were all in London, what character would everyone be?

We would all be part of the Queen’s guard. Secretly filming everything to see what else Andrew has been up to.

What do you think you could do/what have you done to help those with nothing?

Well, I suppose I could steal a shit load of money and dish it out. Like a modern-day Robin Hood, the only problem is I’m bad at stealing unless I’m in Tescos.

Where are some places you’d like to stay in in the future?

New Zealand because when the world goes down in flames I reckon it will have the best view.

Can you humour us on what you think is the fishiest thing to happen at Buckingham Palace?

I guess probably all the satanic child-sacrificing rituals. No Xbox at Christmas for those poor bastards.

The track grapples with desires of running away, what are 5 things you would bring with you if you ran away and why?

Running shoes, spare running shoes, a map, a bottomless bag of brazil nuts, and a bottomless fresh watermelon juice. Because my feet are gonna ache, I want to know where I’m going without being tracked by Apple, and nuts and watermelons are great.

Taking inspiration from the track name, if you could have a palace, what would it be like?

It would be something very similar to the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Except without stewards following you around asking you to remove your hat.

And finally, slightly cliché but what does music mean to you?

Imagine a giant meteorite colliding with the planet and you’re in the prime spot (New Zealand) to watch it burn. It’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen or heard and for a brief moment, you find peace. But then your eardrums burst as your eyes pop like balloons and your skin melts like cheese and for a brief moment, it’s the worst pain you’ve ever felt.