Post Sex Nachos Finds Levity In The Struggle With New Album ‘Big Bad’
Cover art for Big Bad
Like so many successful indie pop outfits before them, Post Sex Nachos makes engaging, danceable rock tracks with just the right amount of heartache and vulnerability. The Nashville five-piece — comprised of Sammy Elfanbaum, Chase Mueller, Hunter Pendleton, Mitch Broddon, and Jack Hazel — is known for adding their own twist on this classic pop recipe with their blend of humor, self-awareness, and nostalgic, synth-forward melodies that captivate audiences and have grown the band a dedicated following.
Building up to the release of their fifth album by dropping four singles off the nine-track record (and sharing plenty of playful social media posts), Post Sex Nachos has created quite a buzz around Big Bad, which came out on Friday. This heightened sense of anticipation around their new project feels emblematic of a broader shift in the band’s creative direction; it seems like Post Sex Nachos is on the cusp of something significant with Big Bad, and the album largely meets these lofty expectations.
In many ways, Big Bad is a record concerned with different forms of failure and inertia, and more specifically, the anxiety around asking someone to meet you where you are — even, and perhaps especially, when that means they’ll see the messier parts of your life. Named after the recurring villain in tabletop gaming, you can expect a healthy dose of humor and levity mixed into the heavier themes of the record, which is the typical tongue-in-cheek tone taken by the Nashville alt-pop band.
The album opener, “Living A Lie,” begins unassumingly, with 15 seconds of muted guitar plucks and distant synths before a rush of sound sweeps over you, and vocalist Sammy Elfanbaum’s trademark cry draws you in. The track sets the tone for Big Bad, with lyrics that grapple with imposter syndrome, burnout, and the fear of disappointing the people around you. This, combined with a head-bopping beat, funky bass line, and entertaining instrumental bridge, makes this song a strong start to Post Sex Nachos’ new record.
Next, the band does what they do best on “All For You”: angst at full throttle. For anyone suffering through a long-distance relationship, this track is for you (along with track four, “Sound of You”). The yearning of “All For You” continues on the subsequent track, “Junk,” filled with wistful lyrics about going through old mementos and layered with expressive guitar licks that deepen the song’s sense of nostalgia.
Watch the official music video for “All For You” on YouTube.
Post Sex Nachos knows how to pick their collaborators well, and this album is no exception. Featuring MARIS (a pop-rocker from Montana) and Annelise Gonzalez (a Nashville-based singer-songwriter), “Pop Tarts” is certainly the catchiest track on Big Bad, with a similar blend of funky synth and light-hearted yet honest lyrics found in one of their most popular songs, “Talk About It,” featuring The Greeting Committee.
A track about the sometimes less-than-glamorous reality of being (and being with) a musician struggling to make ends meet, “Pop Tarts” is a modern love song about taking someone as they are — broke, dreaming too big, and “living off of Pop Tarts.”
Post Sex Nachos also added a collaborator on another Big Bad track: “A Lot To Lose,” which features the sibling trio BAILEN. This lo-fi folk-pop track is elevated by Julia Bailen’s Este-Haim-esque vocal styling, which acts as a nice counterpart to Elfanbaum. The album’s two collaborative songs are broken up by “Insane,” a more instrumental-heavy track whose driving bass line carries the song forward nicely.
“Silver Line” might be the best song on the album. It has a darker edge compared to the other tracks, but that’s exactly what makes it so satisfying to listen to. Post Sex Nachos leans into distorted guitars and a heavier drum beat and bass line that give the track a more garage-rock-influenced sound, and its lyrics call back to the opening track and the paralyzing cycle of being in a rut yet “pretend[ing] that I’m doing just fine.” The moodier, deeper vocal register on the verses is reminiscent of Hippo Campus’ grungier tracks, making “Silver Line” a compelling counterpoint to the smoother, brighter songs that precede it on Big Bad.
The penultimate track is an unexpected, but subtly satisfying, ballad, “Thanks To You.” Though the track feels more like a demo than a fully fleshed-out song, it still adds a layer of emotional depth to the album. The shortest song on Big Bad, it’s then followed by the album’s finale, “Comin’ On Back,” a moody techno track infused with dreamy synths and a propulsive chorus. It’s the kind of exhilarating, bittersweet climax that feels ready-made for live shows — and immediately makes you want to start the album all over again.
Post Sex Nachos will kick off their North American Fall Headline Tour on Sept. 25 at The Basement East in Nashville, TN.
