About the Bands

Bad Cop/Bad Cop

Formed in 2011, Bad Cop/Bad Cop are a Los Angeles-based, all-female punk band with a heavy, hook-laden sound, big melodies, and political yet personal lyrics.

The band’s 2017 full-length, Warriors (Fat Wreck Chords), was recorded in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election and featured angry anthems about government, patriarchy, and society’s hang-ups around gender. Their newest full-length, The Ride (also on Fat Wreck Chords), shows what happens when you come out the other side of that anger.

The message BCBC is sending this time around is less about wagging your finger at others, or giving the middle one to the Man, than it is about self-love and acceptance. That positivity fuels many of The Ride’s tracks: “Originators,” “Simple Girl,” “Community,” “I Choose,” “Perpetual Motion Machine,” and “The Mirage” exude confidence, gratitude, and compassion.

“Certain Kind of Monster” and “Pursuit of Liberty” are blistering repudiations of the current administration’s treatment of immigrants.

Recorded throughout much of 2018 and 2019, The Ride boasts all of the elements of BCBC’s sound: big guitars, lock-step bass and drums, intricate vocal harmonies, and plenty of attitude.

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Half Past Two

Having formed in 2006, Half Past Two are veterans of the ever-thriving Orange County ska scene, but their forward-thinking approach also aligns them with ska’s current “New Tone” movement. After first coming together with Bad Time Records on 2020’s Ska Against Racism compilation, the band and label have finally teamed up for a new full length LP. Talk Is Killing Me. The new album shows the band building on their ska punk roots to evolve musically and stylistically, at times being more aggressive yet also more heavily introspective than the band’s previous work. Produced by Reade Wolcott of We Are The Union, the album is filled with pop-hooks backed by a rhythm section that flies the flag of “bubblegum ska” while displaying chops clearly suitable for heavier punk and indie stylings. Fans of the band’s 15+ year career will feel the evolution of their sound emanating from this record… pop-sensibilities mixed with fun and joy, but with a more “grown up” edge and heavier subject matter to reflect the realities of the modern world. The “Orange County sound” was due for a makeover, and this new effort from Half Past Two is certainly right on time.

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Sad Snack

Sad Snack is a ska band from San Francisco, CA. They have released singles with Ska Punk International and Lavasocks Records.

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Simple Minded Symphony

Simple Minded Symphony is a heavy, groovy, indie ska band from Seattle on the Ska Punk International record label. A group of goons and their groovy tunes.

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