Cincinnati’s Bad Veins have returned with flash and style, channeling heartache into a dazzling, nostalgia-soaked synth-pop anthem on “Wendy,” the standout single taken off the band’s exhilarating, hiatus-breaking third studio album, ‘Imposter.’
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Stream: “Wendy” – Bad Veins
I hear your heart beating loud out in the distance, and I fear the end is marching in without resistance…
It’s not every day we hear heartache channeled into such dazzling, melodramatic indie pop.
Then again, it’s not every day we hear from Cincinnati’s Bad Veins, either.
In fact, it’s been eight years – and in the spirit of making up for lost time, the Midwestern band have released a brand new album full of that sweet, sweltering synthpop and cinematic indie rock that earned them their following in the early 2010s. Released December 1 via Dynamite Music, Imposter is bold, buoyant, and irresistibly catchy: A sonically and emotionally charged collection of power-pop anthems and tender upheavals that ache with the warmth, the wonder, the pain, and the beauty of being alive.
Nowhere does Bad Veins’ star shine bright than on the record’s lead single “Wendy,” a radiant eruption of nostalgia and longing dedicated to a lost love forever enshrined in memory.
where do I begin
you took a lot from me
you reel me in
and you set me free
one thing I know
if I hang around
the undertow
will take me down
Wendy I grow more afraid
i’m drifting further everyday
I never meant to come undone
I never thought I’d miss someone
like I miss you Wendy
Released as a single in mid-October, “Wendy” sees Bad Veins at their best: Buoyant and brooding, colorful and cathartic, it’s an intimate eruption from the heart’s darkest depths transformed into a singalong.
A moment of loneliness and solitude explodes out in all directions as songwriter and frontman Ben Davis turns it into a vast, expansive – and immersive – reverie.
how could this end
well at all for me
you’re my only friend
you’re my enemy
I volunteer
but i’m still not sure
there’s nothing clear
in the fog of war
Wendy I grow more afraid
i’m drifting further everyday
I never meant to come undone
I never thought i’d miss someone
like I miss you Wendy
“I wrote ‘Wendy’ a while ago, while in a particularly nostalgic mood,” Davis tells Atwood Magazine. “It started with the drums actually, I was experimenting with a beat, building a loop that I thought felt cozy. I felt like I had a lot to say in that moment, but overwhelmed by the idea of putting complicated feelings into words, I started by asking myself, ‘Where do I begin?‘”
“It seemed like a good place to start. I tried to get out of my own way and let the ideas flow. I’m not sure I can really take credit for what it became. It’s just a moment in time.”
I hear your heart beating loud out in the distance
and I fear the end is marching in without resistance
now I hope and pray to find home someday
and i’d love to meet you there Wendy
Wendy
It’s a testament to Davis’ songwriting skills that he can take “just a moment in time” and create a rousing, spirited anthem we can’t wait to play on repeat.
“Wendy” is in good company on Imposter, sandwiched between two equally enthralling tracks – the churning “Long Long Night” and the intoxicating, effervescent “Stupid Heart,” both of which help make Bad Veins’ comeback one worth celebrating. From the moment album opener “Helicopter” takes flight, to the second “Instant” brings us back down to Earth in a kaleidoscopic, cathartic finale, Imposter keeps us enthralled and enchanted.
Lose yourself (in the best of ways) on Bad Veins’ very long awaited third album, and enjoy an impassioned indulgence of heartache on “Wendy.” Peter Pan’s sung about her, Bruce Springsteen’s sung about her, and now it’s Ben Davis’ turn to dwell in the love, and the loss, of the ever-elusive Wendy.
Wendy I grow more afraid
i’m drifting further everyday
I never meant to come undone
I never thought i’d miss someone
like I miss you, Wendy
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Stream: “Wendy” – Bad Veins
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