When Los Angeles-based Rock band Badflower first broadly ascended into the public eye in 2018 with their single “Ghost,” no one could have predicted what would happen next. A song that took the band to the top of the Rock charts, “Ghost” told a dark story about life, death, and feelings of hopelessness. Striking a nerve and very real, it ended up being a momentum builder for Badflower with songs like a re-released edition of “Heroin” before the striking “The Jester,” both of which hit number one on US Mainstream Rock charts.
Only a glimpse into what made Badflower extremely exciting among others on the Rock scene, the band’s 2019 debut album, OK, I’m Sick, rocketed to the top of all sorts of charts in the USA and was arguably one of the best Rock records of the year. Factors that would lead many others to follow a similar formula to achieve success a second time around, Badflower would not follow suit. In 2021, they put out a completely different, yet extremely high-quality follow-up album, This Is How The World Ends.
A second album that included such songs as the intense “Family,” “Mahine Gun,” and “Don’t Hate Me,” there was also the tongue-in-cheek “Everyone’s An Asshole.” Possessing a sound that found Badflower being themselves, it was beginning to look like this band was a keeper. Sustaining themselves on tour with a diverse mix of acts through the years, ranging from Shinedown to Incubus and Paris Jackson, Badflower oddly fit everywhere, but also nowhere at all.
A band that is not enamoured by shiny, hollow success by just pumping out the same paint-by-number tunes, now in 2025, they once more take matters in another direction. First, giving a glimpse into what might be next in June 2024 with the release of the single “Teacher Has A Gun,” there was a bit of a Pop Punk vibe involved, as with the follow-up of “Detroit” in July 2024. Still, the release of “Haunting You” in October 2024 was something completely different. Followed by the moody “London” in January 2025, the more straightforward Alternative Rock “Paws” in April 2025, and the heavy Punk-driven “Snuff” in early June 2025, it began to look like each component of a new album would be scattered across the spectrum.
Rather exciting if you like diversity without a flatline tempo, at last, the third full-length album from Badflower, No Place Like Home, arrived on June 20, 2025, through Big Machine Records. Including each of the 2024 and early 2025 singles (except for “Teacher Has A Gun”), in total, No Place Like Home is a deep thirteen-track album that never grows boring. Once again, including the tried and true lineup of Vocalist/Guitarist Josh Katz, Lead Guitarist Joey Morrow, Bassist Alex Espiritu, and Drummer Anthony Sonetti, this new album has all the signatures of Badflower (raw emotion, sarcasm, and unpredictability) all matched with further maturity.
A reflection of who the band is and their own experiences, it seems that while their lyrical themes still struggle with internal mental battles and feelings of negativity, there is a wider lens into happiness, self-acceptance, and even finding love. Now, before you rush to judgment and think Badflower is going soft, refrain and realize their progression as a band and as songwriters feels entirely natural.
Still very heavy and dangling between Alternative and Hard Rock, the dynamics from song to song are refreshing and invigorating. Rich in texture, these are Rock songs with a heartbeat that allows you to dig into the storylines sung out by Katz in various animated tones. For deeper understanding, tracks like “Story Of Our Lives,” “What’s The Point,” and “Don’t Be A Stranger” are extraordinarily insightful and heartbreaking at the same time. This is while “Number 1” is the best reaction to the shallow world that treats everything as disposable, only to be replaced by what is hot next.
Overall, not enough can be said about Badflower’s genuine human quality. They are not looking to fit any frame just to sell a record, but are, in truth, making the music they think sounds good, and it just so happens it is damn good too. That is why Cryptic Rock highly recommends the evolution of Badflower, giving No Place Like Home 5 out of 5 stars.
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