Bad Animal - Growing Pains (2019)

The resulting seven tracks on Growing Pains don’t stray too far from punky hard-rock template, but there is a certain polish and sophistication to high-octane anthems such as Blackout and Boombox and the dramatic, synth-soaked balladry of Abigale.

“We went out and bought a whole bunch of new gear and threw it in front of us and kept it throughout the writing process,” Stoddard says. “And working with our producer Colin Stewart, who has a whole bunch of tricks in his bag and has been making records for 25 years, that is a big difference as well.”

Bad Animal has returned home but the band doesn’t plan to stay idle. A West Coast tour is planned for September and they want to spend time in Los Angeles, rent out an Airbnb, demo some new songs and play half a dozen or so shows.

The new album’s title, Growing Pains, is a bittersweet reflection of the flux the band has been through in the past few years, which saw original members leave the act.

“It’s pretty painful,” Painter says. “It’s like growing pains and figuring it all out and not giving up on music.”

“It’s that liberating pain,” Stoddart adds.