EP Walkthru: Kat Edwards - Best Bad News

With a newfound spirit of fun, the indie-pop songstress takes us through her emotional new release track by track.

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Photo by James Morris

Indie-pop songstress Kat Edwards ended 2021 on a high note with her single Safety receiving full rotation at triple j, Feature Artist of the Week, landing at #12 most played and listed as ‘Ones to Watch in 2022’ at triple j Unearthed, as well as being listed as Ticketmaster AU’s Top 10 Breakthrough Artists of 2022. With this moment, the 22-year-old singer-songwriter unveils her 7-track EP, a release which features previous singles Safety, Good Girl, Don’t Call Me, and title track Best Bad News.

This release is about manufacturing warmth and perspective out of darkness for Kat, turning all the struggles of growing up into compositions of emotional resonance that are laced with a newfound spirit of fun. Sporting up-beat pop sensibilities with tracks like Best Bad News, Don’t Call Me, and Pretty Dancer, the twags and rhythmic strums from electric guitars reminisce the indie sounds of Julia Jacklin, Stella Donnelly, and Phoebe Bridges. Pulling back the tempo a bit with ballads Safety, Good Bad News, Loser, and the EP’s closing track Growing Pains, Kat Edwards works her melodic magic as her angelic vocals dance around refreshing chord progressions.

Out today, get a better insight to the inspiration behind and making of the tracks on Best Bad News, as Kat Edwards walks us through the release below.

Safety

I was out growing my long term relationship in the midst of writing Safety. I felt as though my partner at the time was only with me because it was comfortable. I hated that feeling and wanted more for myself and from this life. I don’t want to just stay in one place/with someone because it’s safe and easy. This was the first song I recorded with Dylan Nash, and the whole process was just so magical that we have been working together ever since. (we recorded B.B.N, Pretty Dancer, Loser and Growing Pains together) He has become a close friend and collaborator, I feel like with this song he really helped shape my music and what I wanted the rest of the ep to sound like.

Best Bad News

This song was written post break up while I was trying to casually date someone.. Super laid back and cool of me to write a song about them..haha. I look back on this track with fond memories. It was so fun to create something not so heavy and dark. During the recording process we referenced a lot of Haim and Caroline Polacheck. I love how their work is pop influenced but still retains its individuality and charm.

Good Girl

Good Girl was the first song I ever properly recorded and released. I worked with Xavier Dunn on this track + Don’t Call Me and it was just the greatest first taste of working in this industry. I felt really heard and comfortable creating this track. It was written after I had put an end to a pretty toxic situation with someone. I had been angry about how I was treated, so the whole process was very cathartic.

Don’t Call Me

Written around the same time, this was the flip side to that same situation. I guess the song is making a joke of it all, which was such a nice release for me. It’s one of my favourite songs to play live with my band.

Pretty Dancer

I was listening to heaps of Andy Shauf at the time of writing Pretty Dancer, which I think is reflected in my choice of chords. It’s about jealousy and feelings of inadequacy. Of feeling too much and just wishing you could trade places with someone more relaxed.

Loser

The last two tracks on this EP are super personal to me. At the time I was suffering pretty severely with social anxiety. It was hard for me to shop for groceries, to leave the house, to talk to people. I constantly felt embarrassed about existing. It was so easy to write about something I was experiencing at the time, it just kind of fell out of me as though I was writing in my journal.

Growing Pains

This is my favourite track on the ep and my absolute favourite song to perform live. It’s about watching a relationship dissolve, but I had this idea of watching it end from above, kind of like having a birds eye view of the situation. Watching the downfall but detaching from the moment itself as it was too painful for me at the time. It’s about growing apart and growing up.

Kat Edwars Best Bad News EP