Review: Badflower - ‘OK, I’m Sick’
Badflower ‘Ok, I’m Sick’ album artwork
Badflower’s highly anticipated debut album Ok, I’m Sick is finally here, and it was well worth the wait. It is proving to be one of my favorite releases of 2019 so far and I wasn’t even a diehard Badflower fan, to begin with.
After the success of the single “Ghost” last September, a song that is currently sitting with 9.2 million views on YouTube, all eyes were turned to Badflower for the release of this album. It’s just such a hard-hitting record that one can’t help but leave on repeat.
Ok, I'm Sick also features an interesting array of rock influences throughout the record; ranging from the likes of My Chemical Romance to the rest of the rock of the early 2000’s. Something about the delivery of most of these songs are reminiscent of the music from that time, another aspect of this album I find quite enjoyable.
With the overwhelming success of “Ghost”, I was expecting Ok, I’m Sick to focus mainly on the elements that made that song popular. However, this album is all over the place. “Ghost” and “x ANA x” talk about similar topics in regards to mental health, but the final product of each of the tracks is drastically different. There’s a little something for everyone.
The messages in the songs are blunt and straight to the point, as has been the theme in recent years. Not tip-toeing around sensitive topics is something I’m 100% on board with. Ok, I'm Sick covers topics like mental health, abusive relationships as seen in “Daddy” or political messages like in “Die”.
Bottom line is that this is a band that doesn’t bullshit you with their work. They do a fantastic job on having a darker insight with their lyrics. What Badflower has created musically, you can’t help but be completely hooked and desperately wanting more.
The first half or so of Ok, I’m Sick does feel a lot stronger than the rest of it. There’s just some stuff that seems a little drawn out, like the final song “Cry”. However, in my head I don’t think anything could successfully follow “x ANA x.” I’ve had that song on a loop since the moment it came out and I somehow haven’t gotten sick of it yet.
The band as a whole just has an interesting vibe to them. Vocalist Josh Katz is amazing at what he does and you can tell that the entire band has a chemistry that is hard to match. They definitely bring a very fresh and original sound to the table and I will really have to get into them more.