It’s not that often a band form as teenagers and stay together long enough to grow facial hair, but Bad Touch have been with us a good, few years now, and with a clutch of albums under their belt. Lead guitarist Rob Glendinning founded the band, dipping out for a few months before returning, while vocalist Stevie Westwood, guitarist Daniel Seekings, and bass player Michael Bailey have all remained resilient in their roles. As too did drummer George Drewry until very recently, the co-founding member having left to spend more time focussing on “his personal life”.

We prefer to ignore that the music industry can be an all-pervasive business. Today, much as many of us scream at the refusal of work computers and phones to leave us alone (and such harassments are theoretically legally prohibited), for the self-employed, which musicians are (unless amalgamated under a band umbrella as a company) you’re never free. And depending on how successful you actually are you might be holding down another job to keep the music moving forward.

Bad Touch have had a good crack of the whip, done okay for themselves, but is that enough? Is it for any of us? Are they far enough up the ladder to take a breather? Probably not after the Covid lockdown. Maybe that whole new wave of classic rock tag’s had its day as a marketing tool too? That could be the reason they’ve opted for a mainstream current sound on their new album. “Bittersweet Satisfaction finds Bad Touch with a renewed sense of purpose and determination,” ran the PR blurb.

Drewery performs on it, so it’s his swansong, and much as it’s fun to put the cat among the pigeons, spreading gossip that he might not have liked the direction (Is the term musical differences now passé?) the reality’s no doubt more mundane, not least if he’s a family to support. Despite which, as they note, they got a really good drum sound on this album. His recently announced replacement is Brad Newlands, formerly of Piston.

Recorded at The Marshall Studio in Milton Keynes, Bittersweet Satisfaction  has been self-produced, with engineering by Adam Beer and Ollie Brightman, then mixed by Romesh Dodangoda. It was apparently completed six months before release. The legacy of Covid refuses to back off.

“We’ve never sat on anything that long because we’re like kids in a candy shop, as soon as we write something, we want to get out there and play stuff,” Westwood commented, adding: “So, it’s very exciting. It’s slightly more mature. I love every song. It’s a different sound for Bad Touch. It’s less balls-to-the-wall rock, and the songs seem a bit more thoughtful rather than just kind of exploded out of a tin can.”

Yet, Seekings maintains: “We are a feel-good, good-time rock’n’roll band.” So just how different is it from the previous four albums? Well initially, ‘Slip Away’ sounds even-older school than their previous tunes, coming on like Cream’s ‘Sunshine Of Your Love’ riff speeded up and given a Hendrix run-around. Then, sooner than it took to write that down it gets fuller-bodied, crashing boldly head-on like they’ve found that fabled Swiss blood transfusion hospital Keith Richards was supposed to use, because they sound pretty keen. ‘This Life’ gives us some AC/DC chord riffage before a chorus hook that’s good time arms-in-the-air flag waving rock.

What’s distinct on both those tracks, is the sharper sonic attack of the guitars, notably during solos, and also that the lead vocals aren’t quite as pronounced, now that’s fine for those modern rock songs that like to hide or autotune vocals as part of a whole decompression act for digital listening, but not proper rock, mate! As I say, the vocals aren’t buried, but they’re not as pronounced and for me your frontman should be distinct in the mix. Somebody’s also playing keyboards on many of these tracks and it sounds like female backing on ‘Spend My Days’ which proves to be a corker of a track!

In repurposing themselves, they’ve delivered a soul-soaked adrenalin sugar-rush rocker, where Westwood looks back passionately at either the one that got away, or the woman he should at least be paying more attention, giving it his all vocally, with that female backing offering added harmonic passion. Bailey’s bass pummels like a heart about to have an attack while the whole thing shivers and shakes the tempo shifting to suit the emotions wrought lyrically, while there’s this absolutely glorious guitar line that keeps coming in and out the mix throughout. I can hear so many influences here, diverse ones, from The Isley Brothers to The Cure, with The Manic Street Preachers, The Jam and The Answer all dancing round the sides, and I bet not one was an influence. This one goes on repeat.

Title track ‘Bittersweet Satisfaction’ is bold and loud. Staggered rock chops mesh out between the verses sung before a hefty swing come an anthemic chorus. Released as a single, ‘Nothing Wrong With That’ appears to have been written during the pandemic, ‘As long as you carry a song in your heart, and a smile on your face, then nothing can get you down’ sings Westwood over a song that in essence could’ve been something sung round an old pub piano, whereas it a bluesy folk rock shuffle all roughed up, and reminds me of Waysted when those wonderful reprobates returned earlier this millennium.

‘Taste This’ has Bad Touch trying on some heavy funk for size, and they’ve got boots fit to take the rock dance floor. If you like the way Gun turned Cameo around, you’ll like this. Everyone plays a blinder on this, the only thing wrong with it being it’s too short. Give me the 12” dancefloor mix.

‘Tonight’ is another swing-along groovy rocker, at its core you can detect their classic rock influences but given enough of a sonic shift to make them relevant for a modern audience. ‘Come Back Again’ has Westwood trying out a deeper Ray Charles intonation for its gospel styled opening before becoming a full-on break-up ballad where you can picture drunken fans at a gig grabbing each other round the shoulder as they sway joyfully despite its tear-eyed subject matter. ‘See It To Believe It’ is a robust rocker, like Slade playing a Faces number.

Ending with ‘Dizzy For You’ this is one great big whirlwind of sound, as an ode to the joys of feeling good, feeling in love, and where for a few moments you’re forgetting the woes of the modern world. It’s like grandsons of The Small Faces celebrating with the sons of The Black Crowes, at a party that should never end. Westwood intonates beautifully, trying out voices, delivering much passion as the band rave anthemically and Glendinning dips in and out with another delicious guitar hook line.

I really wasn’t sure about this, but creatively at least Bad Touch have made the right move. They may be further down the food-chain than bands like The Answer or The Darkness who’ve similarly repurposed themselves in recent years, but if their fans give them a chance it should see them keeping on an even keel, and if they get the right kind of ongoing radio support they should seriously be adding to that number, and if I may be sexist for one moment, this is a female-friendly record; simply put women like to dance and this is littered with such tunes so expect to see more of those on their forthcoming tour. Not a bad thing at all as far I’m concerned.

• Reviewed by Paul H Birch.

• Bittersweet Satisfaction is released via Marshall Records and is is available here.
• Official Website

Track List:

1. Slip Away
2. This Life
3. Spend My Days
4. Bittersweet Satisfaction
5. Nothing Wrong With That
6. Taste This
7. Tonight
8. Come Back Again
9. See It To Believe It
10. Dizzy For You