Let’s cut the crap: Mad Bad World isn’t kidding. With their debut single “Weirdo”, mastermind Matt Battle—the Rochester-bred, LA-hardened badass—shows us he’s good – damn good. If you’ve been craving a track that marries the swagger of indie-rock with the neon-drenched haze of psych-pop, strap in. This is your fix.
Battle, a veteran drummer who’s smashed skins for Chicano Batman (yeah, the cats who rocked Coachella and the Hollywood Bowl), steps into the spotlight with “Weirdo”, proving he’s can’t be only a backbone—but the whole damn skeleton. Written, produced, and performed entirely solo (save for some strings and guest vocals on other album tracks), the song is a Frankenstein’s monster of Battle’s influences: lo-fi grit, synth-wave shimmer, and punk adrenaline. Imagine Kevin Parker colliding with Ty Segall in an alley, and you’re halfway there.
“Weirdo” starts with a synth touch so thick you could swim in it, with modulated guitars that cut like a blade. The track’s backbone is a thunderous backbeat that’s pure Battle—no surprise from a dude who’s scored Adult Swim bumps and a VR film (“Bodyless”) that scooped international awards. But the real magic is in the tension: dreamy jingles crashing into jarring riffs, while Battle’s voice all over the place, from soft and vulnerable to straight-up unhinged. “I need you more than ever” and “tell you that you’re beautiful” are lines that tell us it’s like he’s ripping his damn heart out and showing it to the world.
Mad Bad World’s debut album, “Mercy Memory”, is out now, and “Weirdo” tells us it’s gonna be pretty good music. So play this sucker loud, let the synths fry your brain, and embrace your inner weirdo. Mad Bad World isn’t here to fit in—he’s here to burn down the boxes. Play it again. Louder.