Bad Penny – ‘Love Bomb’
Reviewed by Gareth Griffiths • 8 January 2026
In early 2021, I was scouring the internet, YouTube and music streaming services looking for new music to listen to. I wanted something from an unknown band that I’d never heard of but crucially, I really needed it to speak to me and give me some much needed aural pleasure! A few days into my search, some songs had been added to a playlist but to be honest, none of it had the wow factor I was looking for. That was until one of the well-known streaming services used its algorithm and tracking of my musical preferences to suggest a band called Bad Penny. Well, I’d never heard of them, so the first box was ticked… but what about the music, a rock ballad called ‘Lose Myself’ featuring none other than former Journey frontman Steve Augeri? Being a sucker for a ballad and for the voice of the aforementioned Mr Augeri, I was hooked immediately and in the five years since I first heard that song, Bad Penny have released several other brilliant singles featuring a diverse range of heavyweight guest vocalists from Rob Halford and Corey Glover to Dee Snider and Robin Zander.
The brainchild of songwriter/guitarist Mike Holtzman, Bad Penny haven’t quite managed to release an album yet but going by previous release patterns, I always anticipate some kind of new music news in the first quarter of the year or so. As the famous ‘One O’Clock Gun’ blasted in 2026 from the turrets of Edinburgh Castle, I checked social media regularly, looking for a hint of something new from Bad Penny that would help me through a cold Scottish January! Fortunately, I didn’t have long to wait, with Holtzman proudly announcing that the band’s latest single, ‘Love Bomb’ was due for release on 9th January and would feature none other than the legendary vocalist of The Runaways, Cherie Currie! With the line up completed by permanent members Tony Bruno (Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Rihanna) on guitar and Danny Miranda (Blue Oyster Cult, Queen) on bass, as well as Broadway veteran drummer Mike Sorrentino, is ‘Love Bomb’ going to cause a musical explosion that will be heard in all corners of the rock world?
Starting with a drumbeat that immediately transports the listener back to the heyday of 1970s glam rock, followed by a vocal squeal and solid yet simple speaker shaking guitar riff, you can almost visualise the band in bell-bottoms and platform shoes, performing on the flimsy looking Top of the Pops set on BBC Television! Think Sweet… and dare I say it, the disgraced Gary Glitter and his ‘Rock & Roll’ song before his well-deserved fall from grace. The point is that it’s pure and immediate nostalgia and the gateway to the soundtrack of many a childhood… and the older I get, the more I love new music formed on a classic template. It’s comforting, like a big warm and heavy musical blanket.
As Cherie Currie’s unmistakeable voice appears, there’s almost a ‘twenty a day’ rasp to it that adds to the wonderful vintage feel of the music, with the drums remaining loud, proud and prominent in the mix, just like it used to be!
“I walked out on you” sneers Currie.
But why, you may well ask!
“Coz, I wanted to” she replies in a carefree, brutally honest manner!
There’s no messing with Cherie Currie in this song!
There’s no definite verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus structure to ‘Love Bomb’. From the outset, it’s just a loud and fun song based around a brilliantly meaty guitar riff that sounds as if it has been recorded live on a vintage Les Paul through a classic Marshall stack, just like our heroes did back in the day! I dare you to try to sit still and not bop your head or tap your feet. Bet you can’t do it, such is the infectiousness of the song.
There’s a strange little spoken section midway through, where a man who clearly feels he has been wronged opines “if I don’t do what she wants to do when she wants to do it, then I’m a jerk”. For the last 21 years, I’ve called this marriage! But of course, I’ll deny this statement if the wonderful Mrs Griffiths ever hears of it… and I’m also banking on her not reading this review! Anyway, I digress!
The glam rock feel continues with a superb squealing and screeching guitar solo. Sticking with the template of previous Bad Penny guitar solos, it’s not overdone and doesn’t outstay its welcome. It doesn’t try to be the ‘Comfortably Numb’ or ‘Freebird’ solo, hogging the musical limelight. It simply fits perfectly with the music and other bands and guitarists should take note. Sometimes, less really is more!
As the songs ends with the catchy verse/chorus hybrid and guitar riff and Currie’s voice signs off with another squeal, I open my eyes to find myself back in 2026. The news tells me that the world is still in turmoil, there’s wars still being fought and there appears to be very little positivity anywhere. So, there’s nothing else for it other than to press play and listen to ‘Love Bomb’ again, closing my eyes and allowing the music to take me back to a time when worries were less and glam rock ruled the airwaves. I’d urge you to do the same!
‘Love Bomb’ is out on the usual platforms on Friday 9th January 2026. Fingers crossed for the long-awaited Bad Penny album at some point this year too!