“I just thought it sounded funny,” Brad Stank says of his artist name. “I wasn’t going to keep it at first. I just used it for posting stuff on Soundcloud, but then Flirting in Space started getting some attention and it just stuck. I’ve grown to like it. I guess B Stank is my alter ego now… a true love boy.” We’ve grown to like it too. Same goes for the Liverpool musician’s mellow music – in the vein of Mac DeMarco and his slacker pop disciples – which climaxed with the release of his debut EP Eternal Slowdown a couple of months back via Untitled Records.
Stand-out tracks from the EP will win you over with their lo-fi charm: Condemned To Be Freaky (on which Brad accepts his destiny), Flirting In Space (an ode to alien romance) and lead single Take Me To The Crib (a sweet invitation to come over for green and red wine). Serving up an introverted take on love and loneliness, there’s something charismatic and pretty hilarious about our Brad, who has already played shows with fellow bedroom pop head Clairo and reportedly has a headline UK tour coming soon.
Rumour has is that there are usually some Brad Stank-branded rolling papers floating about at his live shows, so if that’s not worth leaving the house for, I’m not sure what is. Anyway, if you’re keen to know more about him, read through these 10 things you need to know about the man formerly known as Bradley Mullins and have a little smile to yourself. Go on.
1. Ask him what kind of music he makes and he’ll tell you: sexistential pop, baby!
“It’s quite self-explanatory. We’re dealing with the deep issues at the bottom of your brain, but keeping it sexy at the same time.”
2. His earliest musical memory is a pretty cool one…
“I was dancing to Dinosaur Jr. in my parents living room age four. My parents were big 90s grunge fans so I grew up with that and then slowly chilled out. I guess I got less angry and pissed off!”
3. He loves Liverpool for the architecture, the people, the culture and…THE BEATLES!
“We manage to compensate bad weather with good (cheap) beer. The worst thing is probably the gentrification or attempted gentrification – why on earth would you try to knock down the Bombed Out church to build some flats?”
4. And tells us that the city is something of a hotbed for young talent…
“There’s lots of bands and artists doing great stuff. Liverpool’s very diverse in its musical output so there’s not one scene in particular. The Leech Video gang and Eggy records are the ones to watch for me. Leech did the video for all of MC Nelson’s tunes. Special mention to him, who kindly wrote and performed a couple of verses on Butte Magic, from the EP.”
5. Brad Stank is currently trying to reach enlightenment.
“I can’t really talk much about this, because it’s kind of against the whole point. However, as Kerouac once said, ‘Practise kindness to everybody and you will realise you’re already in heaven.’”
6. On one hand, Take Me To The Crib is about a tender one night stand…
“But on the other hand, it also means take me back to when I was young enough to sleep in a crib. To a place where I don’t have to experience the woes of being in my early twenties. So there’s a double meaning there. Innocence and obliviousness – that’s a kind of a Buddhist thing too.”
7. And it’s also an ode to Joni Mitchell’s Little Green.
“I’ve been a big fan of her since I was about 16. I remember listening to Blue on the bus while going to college, that’s how I got into her. I think she’s an amazing lyricist and storyteller. Something I’m interested in is artists who manage to write music that match their lyrics. I think I’m trying to do this too. Painting a picture, that’s what it’s about.
8. You might be surprised by the fictional character Brad most relates to.
“Winnie the Pooh, a fellow bodhisattva!”
9. He might just be the only Scouse psychedelic jazz crooner around these days.
“There ain’t no psychedelic jazz crooners about but, but my band-and-flat-mate Terry Venomous is somebody you should be keeping an eye out for. He’s taken all of his music off of Soundcloud right now, but I’m selfishly trying to get him to put it back because I miss it so much. I’ve been listening to it on repeat. He’s one of my favourite artists!”
10. We could all learn a thing or two from his resolution for 2019.
“Talk less, love more.”