Newport’s Bad Sam return with ‘Trauma,’ out now, a record shaped by decades of sweat soaked stages, borrowed amps, and lived experience. Reduced to a duo of Dean Beddis on vocals and Richard Glover handling everything else, the band lean into a wiry garage rock approach laced with live drum samples and deliberate rough edges. The sound moves with intent and attitude, carrying the marks of punk rooms and community halls rather than studio polish.
Beddis remains a physical presence rooted in his years fronting Cowboy Killers, while Glover brings the rhythmic muscle earned through The Abs and his global run with Dub War. That history surfaces in the way these songs swing and lurch, built by hand and left slightly unsteady on purpose. The energy feels direct and confrontational, with every scrape and misalignment adding character.
Lyrically, ‘Trauma’ aims straight at the darker corners of modern life. “Popcorn & Blood” sketches a dystopian spectacle culture built on violence and consumption, while “Perpetual Consumption” fires off sharp observations with a punk snarl that recalls classic agitators without imitation. The words land hard, clear, and unfiltered, matching the music’s raw delivery.
Bad Sam stand comfortably among today’s wave of abrasive, stripped down acts, bringing their own post industrial bite shaped by Newport’s rich gig history. ‘Trauma’ carries grit, humor, and a sense of place, sounding like a record made by people who have been there, felt it, and still have something urgent to say.