"Los Angeles based rockers with a penchant for seducing you into bed with tales of love, addiction, and self confessed murder" A predatory catcaller. A tortured, addicted lover. A jaded, blue-collar bar band singer. A coldblooded killer. With characters like these, you may feel as though you’re watching a film, not listening to a rock‘n’ roll record. These are just some of the compelling characters from the debut Hundred Handed Records EP from L.A.’s Badflower, a fledgling rock band of cinematic proportions. The EP’s songs showcase an exciting young group of musicians and a star talent in frontman Josh Katz. Long fascinated with movie music, his dark lyrics reveal a storyteller sophisticated beyond his 24 years. “I enjoy putting myself in other people’s shoes, and imagining their thoughts, expressing those hidden terrors and fears,” explains Katz about the roleplaying nature of his lyric-writing. “By acting them out, I try to stress how wrong these attitudes can be, but still show how easy they are to adopt.” Badflower’s songs play like short-films, with Katz portraying the various characters. Some are sympathetic, and some are monsters. These moral contradictions create a tension supported and reinforced by the music beneath. As his chief collaborator, lead guitarist Joey Morrow is responsible for much of Badflower’s signature sound: snaky, psychedelic guitar riffs, often building to powerful rock rhythms over the course of a song. Bassist Alex Espirtu and drummer Anthony Sonetti provide a strong backbone, and Katz’s tenor regularly turns on a dime from world-weary clarity to a violent snarl. Despite the intricacies, this is music for large rooms and big crowds – a throwback to the days when rock music could reach the wide masses, shake up the status quo, even save souls. “I’d like to change the world,” says Katz. “I still believe rock ‘n’ roll has the potential to do that. We are committed to building this into a mountain, a skyscraper. We’ve all pushed each other to get better.” With their debut EP, Badflower seems up to the challenge.