“Who the fuck are Bad Nerves”? This Essex-born band was not even on my radar until I signed up to cover their show at Electric Ballroom for you, dear readers. They were completely alien to me, but something about their name drew me in. I could not recall hearing them in any of my playlists or recommendations.
Bad Nerves
Electric Ballroom, Camden – 17 January 2025
Words: Natalia Kasiarz
Photography: Ryan Hildrew
As a Metalhead, my algorithm does not venture much into the power pop category. However, this little sidestep into the unknown opened the door to a whole new musical universe. Their two albums—Bad Nerves and Still Nervous—are dopamine-loaded, addictive, and highly contagious.
Before the show, I had a chance to sit down with vocalist Bobby and bassist Jon for a chat and poke around their rock ‘n’ roll brains. They have had a fantastic couple of years filled with unforgettable achievements earned through hard work and relentless perseverance. Like any self-made band, they started out playing in shady bars to an audience of three.
The Pandemic did not stop them. Instead, they used that time to complete and release their debut album. The rest is history— it opened doors and caught the attention of big names like The Hives, Nothing But Thieves, Royal Blood, and Green Day, who chose them as tour support across the globe.
Now, they’re selling out their own headline shows like one at The Garage and, most recently, the even bigger Electric Ballroom. Looking ahead to 2025, they are gearing up for another big collaboration, this time with Weezer and a slot at Download Festival, with more announcements on the way.
Out of breath reading this? Do not sleep on this band.
Standing in the centre of a packed crowd, I could feel beaming anticipation – rock ‘n’ roll is alive and well. When Bad Nerves entered the stage that night, everything immediately became sticky, sweaty, and chaotic. People were drowning their mouths with beer faster than the opening riffs of Baby Drummer, which opened the set.
Others ditched their drinks entirely, soaking everyone around just to dive into the pit, which raged nonstop, surrounded by circling crowd surfers for the entire night. The atmosphere was insane.
To my right, a woman lost her shoe; towards the back, the crowd was packed so tightly that the standing area pushed everyone up against the bar. Every available inch of space was filled with happy, dopamine-fueled people.
Bad Nerves performed every song from their two albums, plus bonus tracks from their singles and even a throwback tune from their 2016 setlist. It was a spectacular end to a fantastic year, a one-of-a-kind night for the fans. The audience sang along to every song—a testament to just how infectious their music is.
From the stage, the Bad Nerves were sending waves of high-energy distorted guitar riffs, punchy basslines, and fast drums, all wrapped up with clever yet straightforward lyrics.
During our chat, Bobby joked about ripping off the big stars who paved the way before them. But all musicians take inspiration from other bands. Besides, the originals are not here anymore, and we cannot rely on cover bands to give us that true fusion of punk, pop, and rock anymore.
Bad Nerves are leading the charge in a new-new wave revival, firing up the Gen-Zs and Millenials and making them spin around, giving an alternative to your generic pop or rap dominating the radio.
If you were there that night, good for you. You picked the perfect way to spend your Friday. If you weren’t? Well, I’m disappointed. But I hope reading this inspires you to check out their albums, and when you do, you will be hooked.
Fair warning: their songs are catchy. They will get stuck in your head and will not let go. Many of these tunes circled around fans heads at the Electric Ballroom that evening. All I could hear around me was – “Yes! They played USA!”, “I can’t believe this, I love that song!”, “They even played Television!”. Antidote turned up the heat towards the show’s end even more when I thought it was impossible.
Bad Nerves might have opened stadium shows for the industry’s biggest names, but they thrive in sweaty, intimate venues where they can see the pit go wild and connect directly with the fans.
That energy fuels their performances and their future. I could see a little bit of disbelief still in their faces (apart from Bobby, hiding behind his signature glasses), but I am sure it is in there as well. At this stage of their careers, they are collecting beautiful memories, surreal at times, mixing up with the normality and hardships of living on tour.
In that whirlwind, they have not forgotten where they came from and try to elevate as many grassroots bands as possible.
Snayx
Brighton trio Snayx opened the night for Bad Nerves, as they used to gig together in the past. This had us bouncing from the get-go with bass-heavy tracks and rebellious lyrics. Kudos to clever lighting during Boys In Blue, which bathed the room in red and blue, accentuating the song’s lyrical themes.
At one point, the vocalist jumped into the mosh pit—a rare sight at mid-sized shows—and the crowd enthusiastically supported his wild decision, holding his mic cable as high up in the air as possible as he performed from the heart of the chaos.
They closed their set with a killer punk-alt-rock cover of Breathe by Prodigy—a version that needs to be recorded and released, please.
