Trash Boat, Bad Entertainment (ft. Milkie Way)
Hopeless Records

The lead-up to Trash Boat’s upcoming record has been brutal hit after brutal hit, in the best possible way, and latest cut Bad Entertainment, ft the rock scene’s collective current icon Milkie Way of Wargasm, continues in the same vein. Don’t You Feel Amazing?, the band’s first full-length since 2018’s pop-punk masterclass Crown Shyness, has looked set to be a magnum opus for Trash Boat since the release of intense, brilliant, brash lead single He’s So Good, which pointed the band in a fresh direction and promised that DYFA? is set to be their most mature, ambitious release yet. And they just keep proving it.

Bad Entertainment, on the surface, feels like one of the more restrained cuts Trash Boat have dropped on us so far – the giddy heaviness of He’s So Good, the stomp of Don’t You Feel Amazing?, and the uproarious Silence Is Golden have shown the band at their loudest yet, and Bad Entertainment strips it back a little by comparison, showing Trash Boat’s groovier side. It just takes picturing the tune live, though, to smash to bits any assumptions that this is any less explosive than what we’ve heard so far, and the chorus kicks in to make sure you’re certain of it – by any standards, this is a banger, and testament to how much Trash Boat have pushed it on DYFA?. Bad Entertainment’s rollicking bassline, relentless melody, and cataclysmic builds drive the track along so hard it leaves you breathless, and Milkie Way’s electric bridge sparks a wildfire just when you think you’re getting a moment to slow down.

What we’ve heard so far from Don’t You Feel Amazing? has been a comprehensive guide to making the best rock music 2021 has to offer. Trash Boat have set a high bar – roll on August, because they’re only going to push it higher.

Don’t You Feel Amazing? is out August 13th.