Video Premiere: The Bobby Tenderloin Universe - "Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch"
It’s no surprise that there’s a higher than average number of Edmonton bands that would crack the Cups N Cakes Network list of favourite acts in Canada (we did get our start here in Edmonton, after all). But The Bobby Tenderloin Universe consistently ranks near the top of that list, based on a near universal love for the band’s 2019 debut self-titled record. After rumblings of a new album coming soon for a couple years, we’re excited to premiere the first new music from the band in some time, “Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch”.
Most notable about the song the politely angular and surfy lead guitar riff that reappears throughout; The Bobby Tenderloin Universe has always felt like a conceptual project to some degree, and it’s interesting to see them borrow ideas from other genres that are rooted in the same era as the sort of ‘classic country’ that they’re inspired by. It turns the song into something seemingly crafted in some alternate history, where country music was just a little bit stranger, and all the better for it. The lyrics are the cherry on top, with a sort of Jonathan Richman-esque naivety that is really effective in selling Bobby Tenderloin (the character) as the acid tinged country frontman that you maybe encountered in your grandpa’s record collection when you were a kid.
You can check out the song and music video for “Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch” below.