It’s a rarity to see a band hit the ground running quite like Billy King and the Bad Bad Bad have in the past few months. House shows, a Do512 event, and a few other tune up gigs have all lead up to their much-anticipated upcoming headline show at the Mohawk on July 25th. Ominous drums, twanged guitars, and the otherworldly howl of Will Reynolds all coalesce to evoke a behemoth of a sound that is as sinister as it is hard-hitting. Reynold’s impeccable vocals oscillate between a theatrical Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and a Southern-styled Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother. Bonham-esque percussion from Marty Chronister serves as the backbone from which the surgical guitar-stylings of Cam Wren spring forth, comprising equal parts power chords and face-melting solos.
Frills and gimmicks are lacking as this trio smashes through a short but transcendent thread of songs that are now finally available on their debut EP Fever Dreamin’. The jittered punk diddy "Werewolf of Love" is an earworm of the highest order while "The Night Terror" slow-creeps into one the most cathartic choruses of recent memory. Billy King and the Bad Bad Bad don’t need time to figure themselves out, they stand ready to unleash their hell fury unto us with wicked abandon, and you’d be a fool to deny their sacrament on July 25th at Mohawk.
-Lee Ackerley