Following their December debut EP ‘The Weekend Ritual,’ Adult Leisure has returned with their latest single, “Bad Idea,” which is anything but.
The danceable track delves into the complexities of an unhealthy relationship that trades happiness to keep the peace. The single is served alongside an eatery set visual directed by Tom Whitson that meets the patrons in their misery.
The introspective track introduces “a more filtered and bigger sound” for the Bristol-based alt-indie four-piece, which can be heard on their upcoming second EP due later this year.
We chatted with Adult Leisure about the single, the upcoming EP, and more!
What inspired your new single “Bad Idea”?
It all started with a riff and killer melody from Dave over WhatsApp and that lyric “Cigarette fist fight, I got the limelight”, then it took off from there…
For me, those conversations such as the ones that are referred to in the song are the type of conversations you put off or kid yourself that you can but yet keep coming around so frequently that you have to in fact have a chat with yourself.
The song touches on the frustration of having the same conversations repeatedly without any real progress or change. It highlights the cyclical nature of such conversations and the toll they can take on one’s emotional well-being. Despite this, the song ultimately embraces the imperfections and complexities of human nature, urging listeners to embrace their mistakes and continue moving forward.
This is your first release from your upcoming sophomore EP dropping later this year. How does the single tie into the story and the sound?
I think unlike our debut EP which was more a selection of songs we had bundled together like in Dave’s words ‘a patchwork quilt’, this next EP feels more like a body of work that sonically flows and this was something we consciously set out to achieve with this record.
It had its own sound, its own feel and is wholeheartedly who we are.
Your first EP was written during the pandemic while on lockdown. What was the production process like for this EP in comparison to your debut?
Very different. We recorded mostly in our own homes for that first EP, with Nath smashing the piss out of an electric kit. But we wanted a different feel with this single and upcoming EP, bigger and more rich so have spent more time in the studio, recording live drums and our guitars at Humm Studios and DHB Studios respectively.
We haven’t gone too far the other way though, vocals were recorded in a makeshift vocal booth at our producers house that we referred to as ‘the sweatbox’… aye, you can take the kids out of lockdown haha.
How did you all, including Tom Whitson come up with the concept for the video for “Bad Idea”?
We had a few ideas floating around and had been playing with this idea of an ever spinning shot for a different demo we had that didn’t quite make the EP, but it was on a zoom with Tom that we were able to lean in to the subject matter with the video and create that ‘Cafe of Unfinished Arguments’ that you seen in the video and we are over the moon for how that idea got fleshed out on shoot day.
Do you have any favorite memories from filming?
The eggs that grew increasingly colder as the 9 hr day rattled on… just a reminder that going to Propaganda the night before and rolling in at 3am wasn’t the wisest choice.
If you could set fans up in the perfect environment to listen to the new single, what do you imagine it looking like?
Standing in the field at Worthy Farm with the big Pyramid in it. Start as you mean to go on and get used to it.
You’ll be taking the single live around the UK throughout June on the ‘Bad Idea Tour.’ What can fans expect from a live performance?
A few new EP tunes will be getting a run out. A lot of energy and furious dancing and if you have a brief moment to hear any of the lyrics, you might even shed a tear. So, in essence, you’ll be getting a party of emotions for your £7 or £8 quid, decent.
What can fans look forward to next?
More music over the next few months and the continuation of another chapter for us that is unequivocally Adult Leisure.
What is one quote that you have heard or that you go by that you want to ECHO out to the world?
Open it up. It’s not just a motto; it’s a way of life.