BAD COP / BAD COP • Lighten Up • LP • Pre-Order

Fat Wreck Chords
Release date: 19. September 2025

Light Blue Vinyl - > exclusive color for German independent recordstores

After their explosive 2020 album The Ride, the punk crew from Los Angeles is back with Lighten Up, produced by NOFX's Fat Mike. A perfect band for fans of melodic SoCal punk with a feminist edge. This four-piece delivers endless power and energy on stage, featuring two lead vocalists. Musically, they’re not standing still either—they keep evolving with every release.

"Life is hard, but it's still beautiful. Stop picking the hard shit to look at—look at the beautiful stuff too. Lighten up."

Lighten Up (Fat Wreck Chords), the fourth album from SoCal punk band Bad Cop / Bad Cop, paints a powerful portrait of life's hard-earned victories and losses. It was recorded at The Compound in Long Beach, home of seasoned producer Antoine Arvizu (Sublime, Ryan Bingham). The band already loved working there in 2023 when they recorded the singles “Shattered” and “Safe and Legal” with Arvizu and Migs (Sublime, Slightly Stoopid, Long Beach Dub Allstars).

Bad Cop / Bad Cop stretch their signature melodic punk sound into unexpected territory—like the jazzy “Las Ventanas,” the dub-infused “Note to Self,” or “Johnny Appleseed,” a reinterpretation of the classic by Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros.

After laying down the instruments, the band spent ten intense 12-hour days recording vocals with collaborator John E. Carey Jr. (Old Man Markley, NOFX, Get Dead). “Vocals were the most important part for us. We really tried everything,” says Dee, adding that Gallarza sang the third harmony for the first time.

Lighten Up also benefits from Windsor, a seasoned guitarist whose shredding (see the end of “I4NI”) and deep knowledge of music theory proved invaluable. “Alex’s guitar work is just incredible and really elevated our songwriting,” says Dee.

Everything about Lighten Up feels elevated and authentic. “This was the first time we didn’t give a damn about what others were doing or expecting from us. Lighten Up was—and is—for us,” says Dee. “We had so much fun making it, and we love it so much.”