LA alternative band Badflower delivers an incredible honest, chilling record about depression & suicide on “Ghost,” an advance single from ‘OK, I’M SICK.’  

“I tried it once before I didn’t get too far / I felt a lot of pain, but it didn’t stop my heart / And all I really wanted was someone to give a little fuck / But I waited there forever and nobody even looked up.”  On “Ghost,” Los Angeles alternative band Badflower (Josh Katz, Joey Morrow, Alex Espiritu, and Anthony Sonetti.) clearly depicts a morbid topic – suicide.  For the majority of the record, the protagonist is unable to complete the suicide, despite multiple attempts.  The depressed lyrics are clearly jarring.

Frontman Josh Katz continues to discuss suicide on the second verse, which is half the length of the first.  On the chorus, he’s dramatic about how ultimately suicide “won’t end the pain”:

“Take the blade away from me

I am a freak, I am afraid that

All the blood escaping me won’t end the pain

And I’ll be haunting all the lives that cared for me

I died to be the white ghosts

Of the man that I was meant to be, yeah.”

Despite seeming to avoid completion for the majority of the song, at the end, he’s successful, admitting, “I think I went too far… / I cut a little deeper and the pressure stopped my heart.”  With the distinct, emotional lyrics and subject matter dominating the glory, the sound of the record has been overshadowed.  It shouldn’t be, as Badflower ‘brings the heat’ with a dark, angst-laden backdrop, led by the guitars.

Final Thoughts

Badflower gets real about suicide on “Ghost,” and that’s a good thing (NOTE: not suicide itself, of course). It’s important to bring to light the effects of depression and taking one’s own life.  The band successfully covers an authentic topic, while also delivering an incredible, well-rounded record.

Badflower » OK, I’M SICK » Big Machine / John Varvatos » Release: 2.22.19

Photo Credits: Big Machine / John Varvatos