28 July 2025

THE BAD BEATS – Lucy Mei / Have Love Will Travel (2025, 7inch, Rogue Records)

RELEASE INFO:

Label: Rogue Records

Format: 7”, Single, Limited Edition, Black Vinyl, 500 copies

Release Date: 4 June 2025

Since bursting out of Vancouver, Canada, in 2014, The Bad Beats have carved out their own fiery space in the modern garage rock scene. With three full-length albums on Germany’s iconic Soundflat Records, the band has established a reputation for churning out raw, high-octane 60s-style garage with attitude, authenticity, and sweat to spare. Now, they return with a brand-new 7” on Rogue Records that’s equal parts menace and momentum. Side A, “Lucy Mei”, is a slow-burning garage anthem laced with grit and danger. From the opening riff, the track stalks forward with swagger — wrapped in snarling guitar tones and soaked in vintage reverb. The vocals are cool and commanding, dripping with tension and late-night desperation. There’s a hypnotic edge here, as if the band is channeling the darker side of garage — think The Standells on a comedown, for instance. “Lucy Mei” doesn’t rush; it smolders, letting every fuzzed-out note ring out like a warning siren. On the flip, The Bad Beats tear into “Have Love Will Travel”, putting their own stamp on The Sonics’ garage-punk classic. And they don’t play it safe — instead, they crank the fuzz, push the tempos, and let the harmonica scream. It’s raw, raucous, and completely unhinged in the best way possible, it feels like it was recorded live with the amps on the verge of meltdown. The vocals snarl, the rhythm section pummels, and the spirit of 60s garage roars back to life in glorious mono. “Lucy Mei / Have Love Will Travel” is more than a single — it’s a punch to the chest from a band that lives and dies by the fuzz pedal. TimeLord Michalis