OK I’M SICK by Badflower
Ok I’m Sick or OK I’M SICK is the first full length album from Los Angeles alternative rock quartet Badflower. The group is composed of singer Josh Katz, guitarist Joey Morrow, bass guitarist Alex Espiritu, and drummer Anthony Sonetti. Back in 2018, their single ‘Ghost’ popped onto my radar, a punchy alt rock cut with a lot of dramatic vocals and a tight instrumental. I didn’t think much of it then, but I went into Ok I’m Sick without many expectations. Their debut is a healthy 13 song, 55 minute long endeavor that employs elements of alt-rock, pop-punk, and emo with confidence—a misplaced confidence unfortunately.
The Bad: Josh Katz’s vocal and lyrical performances range from a tad overdone to insufferable. His overdramatic crooning on tracks like ‘x ANA x’ and ‘We’re In Love’ gets old fast. Then, songs like ‘Promise Me’ and ‘24’ dial it back considerably for a more melodic pop-punk take that is similarly fence-hugging and uninspired. The vocals on ‘Murder Games’ were so similar to the small amount of Evanescence I’ve heard, I had to do a double take. Getting into the lyrical elements of the record, Badflower cannot be called unambitious. The song topics range from drug abuse on songs like ‘x ANA x’ and ‘Heroin’ to severe depression and self-harm like on ‘Ghost’. However, the way these topics are treated, I get about as much emotional depth from them as I do from reading the angst-ridden slam poetry of a middle schooler. This is not to say none; it is, however, a little difficult to take them seriously at some points. Katz slams you over the head with his unsubtle songwriting and that is, to me, very off-putting. Compared to the intricate, intriguing approach other emo pop-rock bands like Arrested Youth and Twenty One Pilots take approaching the same topics, Badflower might as well spoon feed their opinions to you. Additionally, some songs just sound preachy—there is a song about how we should kill Donald Trump (‘Die’) and another about veganism (‘Murder Games’). Politics and opinions aside, Badflower’s writing is juvenile on these tracks.
The Good: Now, not every song’s lyrics elicit a cringe. Some sound genuinely painful, in a very good way for emo rock. There are moments on ‘Ghost’ that shocked me pretty well, and ‘Girlfriend’ is depressing and hilarious at the same time. Both are overall pretty enjoyable songs. ‘Daddy’ is a story about abuse and violence that manages to not sound entirely tasteless. It honestly is one of the best points of the album, making me uncomfortable in a brutally honest and up-front way. The vocals are considerably better as well, with Katz’s little falsettos toward the end of the track really popping out to me. In terms of the instrumentals, there is not much room for improvement. It is common for alt rock or emo-pop bands to fall into a trap of overproduced and over mixed blandness. Shinedown’s and Fall Out Boy’s last few records are abysmal for those exact reasons. Badflower manages to avoid this pitfall though. While I don’t exactly love the style in general, Badflower legitimately commands attention through their instruments, with songs like ‘24’ and ‘Heroin’ sounding majestic.
Conclusion: OK I’M SICK is instrumentally tolerable, but Katz’s songwriting really distracts from an otherwise punchy album. The vocals are overblown, and when the topics darken the lyrics can come close to childish. It’s not terrible, buts it’s not great. And it is most certainly not something I’d recommend to anyone not already knee deep in the genre.
I give this album 4 plastic murder bags out of 10. Thanks for reading.
art for cheap 