Bad//Dreems have emerged from a year of sold-out shows and critical recognition with a powerful new statement piece, unveiling their new single Shadowland, the first release from their own newly established label, Gutto Records. The single arrives as the band’s first new material since 2023’s acclaimed Hoo-Ha! album and comes with the first instalment of an accompanying short film project directed by Kaius Potter, shot across the northern fringes of Adelaide.
For over a decade, Bad//Dreems have stood among Australia’s most vital and visceral rock bands. From their early days rehearsing in an Adelaide warehouse to the national breakthrough of Dogs At Bay (2015), their music has captured the chaos and contradictions of modern Australian life.
Shadowland continues that legacy, confronting the unseen world beneath the surface of the everyday.
Frontman Alex Cameron describes the new single as an exploration of both the country’s hidden truths and the inner human psyche. “Shadowland refers to the ever-present feeling that there is a world around us that remains unseen and unfelt. We really only see the shadows of the true country on which we live – fleeting glimpses through the veneer that has been laid down in the past 250 years,” Cameron says.
“Travelling through Arnhem Land stripped away so much of this and exposed us to a country and culture that was vast, vivid and overwhelming.”
That journey through Arnhem Land earlier this year proved pivotal to the song’s creation. The band recorded Shadowland at Adelaide’s Mixmasters Studios with producer Dan Luscombe (Amyl And The Sniffers, Courtney Barnett), channelling both the physical and emotional landscapes they encountered during their travels. It marks a return to form for a band that has consistently evolved while remaining rooted in the Australian experience.
The release of Shadowland follows the band’s sold-out Dogs At Bay 10th Anniversary Tour, celebrating the debut album that first established Bad//Dreems as one of the country’s defining modern rock voices. Produced by Mark Opitz – the legendary studio figure behind AC/DC, INXS and Cold Chisel – Dogs At Bay was a gritty portrait of suburban malaise, masculine vulnerability and social unease.
Since then, the band, Ben Marwe (vocals), Alex Cameron (guitar), Ali Wells (guitar), Deon Slaviero (bass), and Miles Wilson (drums), have released three more critically acclaimed records: Gutful (2017), Doomsday Ballet (2019) and Hoo-Ha! (2023). Each has seen them push further into new sonic and thematic territory while maintaining their fierce independence and storytelling edge. Hoo-Ha! earned an ARIA nomination for Best Rock Album and placed at #2 on Double J’s Best Albums of the Year list, also securing a nomination for Double J Artist of the Year.
In Shadowland, Bad//Dreems wrestle with the “Jungian shadow” – the parts of ourselves we rarely confront. Cameron calls it “an attempt to break free from the constraints placed upon us, and by us, to reconnect with our world and ourselves.” The accompanying short film expands that theme visually, following a protagonist adrift in his own life, searching for meaning in the disconnection of modernity. The full short film is due for release in early 2026.
Beyond the music, Bad//Dreems continue to challenge Australian identity and history. Their body of work includes Sacred Ground and Jack, songs that confront colonial amnesia and call for truth-telling. Their triple j Like A Version cover of Warumpi Band’s Blackfella/Whitefella featuring Peter Garrett, Emily Wurramara and Mambali remains a standout cultural moment, bridging generations of Australian rock and protest.
Their 2023 Arnhem Land tour alongside Black Rock Band, and their appearance at the 50th anniversary of the Wave Hill Walk-Off at Kalkarindji’s Freedom Day Festival, deepened their connection to the land and its stories – experiences that directly inform the new single.
With Gutto Records, Bad//Dreems now take full control of their creative future. The label follows the success of their Quality Meats live album, which sold out in two days. It’s also a direct response to the challenges discussed by Cameron and Wilson on ABC’s Four Corners episode Music For Sale, which explored the struggle for survival faced by Australian artists in today’s industry. Now, armed with their own platform and renewed independence, Bad//Dreems are shaping a new chapter defined by freedom, community and artistic integrity.
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