2021 is the year we let all the small things get to us. Sitting sonically somewhere between The Velvet Underground and Radiohead, Sydney-Wollongong punk band Human Noise open their 2021 musical account with ‘Bad Language’, the perfect bleak earworm for this current social climate.

As frontman Eddie Boyd opens with “everyone seemed to hit the bottom at the same time”, you quickly get a sense of the tune’s direction. Angsty and vulnerable, Bad Language releases all the built-up pressure of first world frustrations about EFTPOS fees, queue jumpers and unreliable public transport, small grievances that can veil a deeper inner turmoil, especially in these (dare we say it) unprecedented times. The song is an anthem for every twenty-something carving out a path and suffering the blows along the way, inevitable or self-inflicted.

Bad Language is a follow up to their blistering 2020 single ‘How Is It You Do That’, a rollicking lo-fi ­tune with the punk-rock grit turned up to 11. Formerly known as Boydos, the band reinvented themselves as Human Noise after their 2019 record ‘It’s Alright, Look At Me I’m Young’, a record that quickly established Eddie Boyd and the band as one of the most exciting talents in the Australian punk-rock ecosystem. Boyd says of their former title:

“It always felt like a rushed choice to me…I had been stewing on [the name] for a long time and I just didn’t feel connected to Boydos. I definitely think the new name [Human Noise] represents the music better.”

The video for Bad Language encapsulates the sweaty and frantic energy the band brings to live shows. You can catch said energy live to celebrate the release of their new single at a handful of launch shows in Sydney, Wollongong, Katoomba and Newcastle throughout March.

WHAT: Human Noise Single Launch
WHO: Human Noise, Motion Sickness
WHEN: Thurs March 4, 6PM
WHERE: Waywards at The Bank Hotel, Newtown
HOW MUCH: $17.85, tix here