Bad Suns are picking up speed as they prepare to release their fifth studio album Accelerator, out Aug. 8. The Los Angeles band are easing into the rush with the record’s latest single “Slow Karma,” which doubles as a mission statement for their first studio album as a trio following the departure of long-time guitarist Ray Libby.
“I was at a point in my life where it was becoming abundantly clear to me that I needed to make some changes in order to progress and live the life that I really wanted,” frontman Christo Bowman shared in a statement. “Getting sober is really hard, but then it quickly becomes the most rewarding thing in the world. ‘Slow Karma’ is about accepting that this is gonna be difficult.”
Bowman tries to outrun storm clouds on “Slow Karma,” singing, “Don’t tempt me with another miserable evening/Red wine and candlelight, Camel Blues/Romanticizing younger days/Don’t be so hard on yourself, I feel every feeling/I get the feeling I missed the moon/Tried for the stars, I hit the pavement.”
Bad Suns first started chronicling Bowman’s sobriety journey on the 2023 EP Infinite Joy. The six-track project followed their most recent full-length LP, 2022’s Apocalypse Whenever. “We saw the Infinite Joy EP as a new beginning for the band. I felt this yearning once again,” Bowman said. “Accelerator being our fifth album, our first studio album as a trio, and the first album of my 30s, we knew that this was going to be really important. We didn’t want to take that lightly. We asked ourselves, how do we live up to the occasion? We saw this album as a mountain we wanted to climb.”
The band now consists of Bowman, bassist Gavin Bennett, and drummer Miles Morris, who pulled double-duty on their recent tour with Finneas, finishing their set and returning to play drums for the singer-songwriter, too. “Slow Karma” follows the release of “Communicating,” the lead single released just in time for the Finneas tour. Bad Suns will return to the road later this month for their own headlining run, which extends through June.
“While making this album, I turned 30, I got married, I found out I was having a kid,” Bowman added. “Going to the studio every day and being in the room with the guys, I had this sense that I’m going to look back and know that was probably one of the best times of my life.”
Accelerator Track List
“Slow Karma”
“Ready to Take Flight”
“Mystery Girl”
“Communicating”
“Why Am I Like This?”
“Madeline”
“Just Like Magic”
“Back to Zero”
“What’s Best for You”
“Postcard”
“Wait in the Car”
“Do the Twist of Fate”
