Tioga's "Bad Things" Explores Dark Pop and Collective Anxiety
Photo by Bre Cura
Tioga seems to be taking a directional shift with this latest collection of singles, focusing on an electrified and synth-heavy soundscape and smooth, captivating vocals. The imagery they’ve subsequently released to promote “Bad Things” perfectly depicts what the song sounds like. It’s a sonic reflection of what would happen if a group like The National met a grungey, DIY basement band. Produced by Arthur Besna via Reynolds Management (The Killers, Imagine Dragons), mixed by Paul Kimsal, and mastered by longtime collaborator Alex Saltz (Vampire Weekend, David Bowie), Tioga is in good company if they’re trying to segway into the realm of dark pop. The song grips you right from the start with a zipping synth groove and lyrics that pull at both the artist and listeners’ sense of collective anxiety. Singer Greg Adams and bassist Austin Paragas sat with us to share some info behind the release of “Bad Things” and the upcoming accompanying music video.
Give us a rundown of “Bad Things” to kick us off.
Tioga: This single we’re putting out next is called “Bad Things”. It’s about the anxiety and the state of things and not wanting to be left alone yet not knowing what you want socially. It’s on the same coin as “Imaginary Friend” which we recently put out. Both are about how personal anxieties affect the people who are around you and how you cope. And writing the song was a way of processing those emotions and working through them
Are you going to release anything else pertaining to this theme/these feelings? Will this be like a series, or are you onto new projects after these two releases?
Tioga: Both “Imaginary Friend” and “Bad Things” will be rolled into an EP which further explores both tracks and expands on building the world around them by conveying them in different sonic spaces. With our last two singles before this “Break Me In” and “Suffer” they were kindred in sound. Looking forward, the next music we’re currently working on is also paired with a shared emotion and instrumentation.
How did you guys decide to focus on “Bad Things” in terms of creating a music video, rather than “Imaginary Friend”?
Tioga: I think the way that “Imaginary Friend” sounds and came together compared to the music video concept for “Bad Things” lent itself better to convey our vision and bring it to life. “Bad Things” in many ways is a little less straightforward and it allowed us to chase a music video concept that wasn’t directly related to the song’s lyrics.
Did you guys pull any inspiration from other quarantine-related releases? The sense of anxiety seems to be a collective feeling that a lot of bands are really leaning into.
Tioga: The subject matter with the songs being so relevant now is a coincidence. Both tracks were written and recorded pre-pandemic. But we do feel that the songs took on additional meaning being released when they were.
What’s the concept behind the music video?
Tioga: We came up with the concept for the music video in a diner during a stream of consciousness monologue about what the video could possibly involved. Bob Sweeney, our director, helped us bring the concept to life and we shot it one day in Philly. The music video concept is basically if David Lynch directed an episode of Food Network’s Chopped. The whole thing is bizarre and ridiculous, but a lot of fun- both with when we were shooting and how it turned out.
You can stream “Bad Things” and “Imaginary Friend” below or anywhere else you find music. The video for “Bad Things” is currently TBD, with credit to Bob Sweeney for cinematography.