{"id":45390,"date":"2026-04-28T15:30:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T19:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=45390"},"modified":"2026-04-26T19:14:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T23:14:02","slug":"meet-bad-stuff-true-widows-dan-phillips-and-dallas-art-rock-collide-on-invisible-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=45390","title":{"rendered":"Meet Bad Stuff: True Widow\u2019s Dan Phillips and Dallas art rock collide on \u2018Invisible Man\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Dallas has been quietly cooking up something heavy, hazy, and hypnotic \u2014 and Bad Stuff is finally ready to let you hear it. The supergroup-of-sorts, featuring True Widow&#8217;s Dan Phillips and Nicole Estill alongside Dallas art rock veterans Jackie Dunn Smith, Gabriel Spatz, and Laura Hartman Pearl, have dropped their second single <em>Invisible Man<\/em> ahead of their self-titled debut, &#8216;Bad Stuff&#8217;, arriving June 5 via Relapse Records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4c3g8la29Dc?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-CA&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you were already nodding along to lead single <em>Summer Girls<\/em> with its circular rhythms and low-end drone, <em>Invisible Man<\/em> pulls you even deeper into the band&#8217;s blown-out, slow-burning world. Post-punk atmosphere, garage rock grit, and a whole lot of cool-headedness \u2014 this is a band that knows exactly what it&#8217;s doing and isn&#8217;t in any rush to prove it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Phillips breaks down how the track came together:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;<em>The song that would later become Invisible Man was one of the first songs I wrote specifically for Bad Stuff. I made a drum machine demo on my ADAT machine and sent it to Gabe with a gibberish vocal track so he could hear the melody and phrasing I had in mind, but when I got it back, he had sung over a part I had not intended to have vocals on. I started to tell him &#8216;eyo, don&#8217;t sing on this part,&#8217; but immediately changed my mind because it was actually way cool. Now I can&#8217;t imagine the song without that part. One-take Gabe needs no editing.<\/em>&#8220;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>And Spatz on his end of the story:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;<em>Yeah, I&#8217;m glad that part stayed in the song. Some of my favourite lines are in there; lines that kind of expand the meaning of the song for me. I remember singing it into my phone in the bathroom and on the roof of my building and having to retake it over and over again because I kept getting interrupted by the sound of horns and barking dogs.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>That kind of organic, happy-accident energy runs through the whole Bad Stuff origin story. The band grew out of two separate projects: Phillips and Estill&#8217;s instrumental outfit Latent Print, which started as a residency band at a Dallas lounge with a true crime aesthetic, and Dunn Smith&#8217;s synth-and-drum-machine project Concord Kill, built on a four-track during the COVID lockdown. When Phillips started adding guitar to Dunn Smith&#8217;s material and the two began fusing it with the Latent Print songs, something clicked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;<em>So these songs from our two bands are sitting there, one set that I wrote for Latent Print and another set that Jackie wrote on a four-track recorder, and one day we decided that maybe we&#8217;d try to put it all together and see if it worked,<\/em>&#8221; recalls Phillips. &#8220;<em>And it did. When we were doing the sequence for the record, that &#8216;switching the dial&#8217; thing became apparent \u2014 there&#8217;s not just one sound or one style. It really makes the pacing of the record work and sort of showcases each of the songs.<\/em>&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That restless, dial-switching energy is reflected in the tracklist for &#8216;Bad Stuff&#8217;:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0673.jpeg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0673-1024x1024.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45392\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0673.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1024 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0673.jpeg?resize=300%2C300 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0673.jpeg?resize=150%2C150 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0673.jpeg?resize=768%2C768 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0673.jpeg?w=1200 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sullen<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gruesome<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Summer Girls<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Invisible Man<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Creator<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hush 1<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nepenthe<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hush 2<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Human Crush<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Work of Art<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8216;Bad Stuff&#8217; is available now for <a href=\"https:\/\/orcd.co\/badstuff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pre-order and pre-save<\/a> on vinyl, CD, and digitally via Relapse Records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bad Stuff is:<\/strong> Dan Phillips (Guitar), Jackie Dunn Smith (Vocals, Synth), Nicole Estill (Vocals, Drums), Gabriel Spatz (Vocals, Maracas), Laura Hartman Pearl (Bass)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow the band: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/realbadstuff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">@realbadstuff<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Dallas has been quietly cooking up something heavy, hazy, and hypnotic \u2014 and Bad Stuff is finally ready to let you hear it. The supergroup-of-sorts, <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=45390\" title=\"Meet Bad Stuff: True Widow\u2019s Dan Phillips and Dallas art rock collide on \u2018Invisible Man\u2019\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[22,23,28,30,1907],"tags":[13988,13995,13993,13987,342,13989,3343,13990,13991,13994,13992,13986,925,4209,4208],"class_list":["post-45390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guitar-rock","category-indie","category-music","category-new-release","category-news","tag-bad-stuff","tag-concord-kill","tag-dallas-music","tag-dan-phillips","tag-debut-album","tag-gabriel-spatz","tag-garage-rock","tag-invisible-man","tag-jackie-dunn-smith","tag-latent-print","tag-laura-hartman-pearl","tag-nicole-estill","tag-post-punk","tag-relapse-records","tag-true-widow"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0674.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2B2TV-bO6","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22749,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=22749","url_meta":{"origin":45390,"position":0},"title":"True Widow announce new album &#8216;Avvolgere&#8217; + stream new song &#8216;Entheogen&#8217;","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"July 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"True Widow, the Dallas trio return have announced\u00a0their fourth album, 'Avvolgere,' on September 23 via Relapse Records. To go along with the album announcement, they've also revealed the first single from the album, Entheogen,\u00a0which\u00a0is streaming now via Soundcloud below. Entheogen is available as an instant download with digital pre-orders, which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;indie&quot;","block_context":{"text":"indie","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"True Widow","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1468938702169-v6nhw49jlh-21476766cff1086caa1dbe483937be0c.jpg?fit=600%2C898&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1468938702169-v6nhw49jlh-21476766cff1086caa1dbe483937be0c.jpg?fit=600%2C898&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1468938702169-v6nhw49jlh-21476766cff1086caa1dbe483937be0c.jpg?fit=600%2C898&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23088,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=23088","url_meta":{"origin":45390,"position":1},"title":"True Widow debut &#8216;Theurgist&#8217; video + announce U.S. tour dates","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"August 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"True Widow, who recently announced the release of their fourth album, 'Avvolgere'\u00a0(out Sept. 23\u00a0via\u00a0Relapse Records), have now shared a video for new song, Theurgist. Watch it below via YouTube. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mJsdrKkIvXg \"We invited out friend Mats Ek over from Sweden to make a couple of videos for the new record. We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"True Widow Theurgist","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/1470926182553-ngm7fbz8lsf-1fbea0f3d6bf80699a32701b3c134b9f.png?fit=600%2C245&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/1470926182553-ngm7fbz8lsf-1fbea0f3d6bf80699a32701b3c134b9f.png?fit=600%2C245&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/1470926182553-ngm7fbz8lsf-1fbea0f3d6bf80699a32701b3c134b9f.png?fit=600%2C245&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23253,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=23253","url_meta":{"origin":45390,"position":2},"title":"True Widow premiere new track &#8216;O.O.T.P.V&#8217;","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"September 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"True Widow, the Dallas trio have premiered a new song, O.O.T.P.V via Brooklyn Vegan - take a listen here - brooklynvegan.com\/stream-true-widows-o-o-t-p-v\/. O.O.T.P.V is the third song the band has shared from their forthcoming album, 'Avvolgere' (out on Sept. 23\u00a0via Relapse Records), having previously debuted the video for Theurgist\u00a0and kicking off\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"True Widow","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/1472676067348-lpxv7eougsk-ef9dac4ca40fba36f8a10f9fb3fd47ad.jpg?fit=600%2C398&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/1472676067348-lpxv7eougsk-ef9dac4ca40fba36f8a10f9fb3fd47ad.jpg?fit=600%2C398&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/1472676067348-lpxv7eougsk-ef9dac4ca40fba36f8a10f9fb3fd47ad.jpg?fit=600%2C398&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23575,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=23575","url_meta":{"origin":45390,"position":3},"title":"True Widow stream new album &#8216;Avvolgere&#8217;","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"September 24, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"True Widow stream their new album, 'Avvolgere'\u00a0(out now via Relapse Records). Take a listen to full album via Soundcloud below. The band recorded 'Avvolgere,'\u00a0with Matt Pence, who also recorded their 2013 release, 'Circumambulation'. The Texas trio recently released a video for the track Theurgist, a clip singer\/guitar player D.H. Phillips\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"True Widow","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/1474578651802-uoqkpopi3bn-7cb14115555e3dcde7d04e4fc03d56d4.jpg?fit=600%2C400&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/1474578651802-uoqkpopi3bn-7cb14115555e3dcde7d04e4fc03d56d4.jpg?fit=600%2C400&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/1474578651802-uoqkpopi3bn-7cb14115555e3dcde7d04e4fc03d56d4.jpg?fit=600%2C400&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23797,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=23797","url_meta":{"origin":45390,"position":4},"title":"True Widow release &#8216;F.W.T.S: L.T.M&#8217; video","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"October 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"True Widow, who released their fourth album, 'Avvolgere'\u00a0in late September, have released their video for F.W.T.S: L.T.M to coincide with the\u00a0kick off their North American tour yesterday\u00a0at Last Exit in Phoenix, Ariz. Watch the video clip via YouTube below. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XmhyGnDL4v8 \"This is the fourth video he's done for us and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;indie&quot;","block_context":{"text":"indie","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"True Widow","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/1474578651802-uoqkpopi3bn-7cb14115555e3dcde7d04e4fc03d56d4.jpg?fit=600%2C400&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/1474578651802-uoqkpopi3bn-7cb14115555e3dcde7d04e4fc03d56d4.jpg?fit=600%2C400&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/1474578651802-uoqkpopi3bn-7cb14115555e3dcde7d04e4fc03d56d4.jpg?fit=600%2C400&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19663,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=19663","url_meta":{"origin":45390,"position":5},"title":"True Widow finish recording new album + announce US tour dates","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"February 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Texan trio, True Widow have completed recording their fourth full-length album with longtime producer Matt Pence at The Echo Lab in Argyle, Texas. The anticipated new album marks the band's first recordings since 2013's 'Circumambulation'\u00a0and is expected to see a summer release via Relapse Records. Photos and clips from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;indie&quot;","block_context":{"text":"indie","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"True Widow","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/1454444388179-9ssloatnsf8-bacb56aac8856e1ac095b277c55ba02a.png?fit=594%2C445&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/1454444388179-9ssloatnsf8-bacb56aac8856e1ac095b277c55ba02a.png?fit=594%2C445&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/1454444388179-9ssloatnsf8-bacb56aac8856e1ac095b277c55ba02a.png?fit=594%2C445&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45390"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45396,"href":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45390\/revisions\/45396"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}