Formed from the nascent tremors in LA’s post-pandemic underground scene, badsoma is a 6-piece indie rock outfit.
badsoma began as the solo project of Iranian-American multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Armin Fard transformed into a dynamic collective defined by a shared vision and diverse voices.
With their forthcoming self-titled EP (due November 14), badsoma continue to expand their sound. The record, with writing contributions from every member, embodies the band’s ethos: collaborative to its core, politically and environmentally conscious in its content, and unafraid to blur boundaries between the personal and the collective.
While songs like “Coffee Pot,” “On a Brazen Day,” and A Little Goes” were written before the current lineup came together, each track was reconstructed, and reimagined in the context of the band.
With Armin and Braden Rose, the band’s percussionist, as producers, songs written by various members of the band were transformed into live pieces, mostly recorded in studio at MooseCat Recording in Los Angeles. Additional production and overdubs were done in Long Beach in Armin’s home studio, where the band experimented with various mixing strategies to capture the drama of their live sound.
Design: Armin Fard, Kenzie Alvarado, Marilyn Barrios
Armin’s early work — informed by his background in classical music composition and his experienced as a first generation immigrant — first appeared in the form of two singles, “Heat and Disorder “ and “Honey Locust Trees.”
In the fall of ‘23, badsoma was reimagined not as a vehicle for one artist, but as a band when Armin met Kenzie “Starlit” Alvarado and Braden while attending a benefit show put together by various climate activist groups in LA county.
Design: Aryan Navid
Starlit, who like Braden had attended the Conservatory for Recording Arts and Sciences (CRAS) in Arizona, and whose appetite for blues was only outmatched by her newly discovered inclination as a guitarist, found herself a musical home in a strange new town she had only just moved to.
The trio enlisted the help of their friend, and local mixology legend, Donald Segien on bass. Later in 2024, after months of local gigs around LA, the band recruited Lindsey Hamilton on strings, and Ana Léon on second guitar to complete their current lineup.
Where many projects orbit around a single figure, badsoma thrives on interplay, Their songs channel both urgency and nuance, balancing lyrical introspection with moments of cathartic release.
Their self-titled EP arrives on the heels of the band’s previous release, Kicking and Screaming
Written and performed with collaborators Sarrah Wolfe and Koosha Hakimi in late ‘22, the EP, supported by TigerBomb, broke onto the NACC Top 200 (#134 debut), with the song “burn out” climbed to #2 on KCSB’s Hitlist within weeks.
Their music has found a home on college and community radio stations across the country, underscoring both their immediate resonance and their staying power.
“As a collection of tunes the kicking and screaming EP covers an impressive amount of ground given that for the most part badsoma move things at a glacial pace.” —mp3hugger
“The musical chemistry runs hot through LA-based experimental indie band badsoma. Offering an airy, dream-like ambience to their unique and delicate sound.” —Music Mecca
“With kicking and screaming, badsoma make a compelling artistic statement, taking the perfect snapshot of their live material to deliver an EP that’s unique, enjoyable and delightful from start to finish.”
—Plastic
All photographs and designs created by Nicole Vail, unless otherwise noted.