Reno band Bug Bath performs, in their own words, “big guitar music.”
They navigate through a multitude of sounds and styles—from slowcore to shoegaze, psychedelic to punk, folk to fuzz—unified by loud, often distorted guitar lines. The band has toured the U.S. and Europe, and their unconventional sound has led them to slots alongside emo music legends like Jimmy Eat World and Mom Jeans, as well as poppy hardcore acts such as Scowl and Mannequin Pussy.
After a busy, successful 2024, Bug Bath only appeared live a handful of times in 2025—and the band is kicking off 2026 with the release of their sophomore album, Too Much Heaven, accompanied by an album release show, on Friday, Jan. 9, at the Holland Project.
During a recent Zoom interview with the band members, they said that Too Much Heaven has been finished for more than a year. Brigdon Markward, vocalist/guitarist, spoke for the group.
“We’ve been sitting on it for a minute,” Markward said. “We recorded it the summer before last, and the state of the band has been really in flux for the last year or so. We’ve been just trying to figure out, ‘What are we doing with it? Are we going to put it out? Are we not going to put it out?’ A lot changes in a year.”
In 2024, Bug Bath was riding high.
“We came back from the U.K., and we played Best Friends Forever (a festival in Las Vegas), and then we played at the Grand Sierra Resort with Coheed and Cambria, so there was a lot going on, and it was just one thing into the next,” Markward said. “We were trying to figure out what we were doing, and if we could keep up the pace that we were on, which is difficult.”
That fast pace eventually caught up to the band.
“Around then, Bijou (Bell, vocalist/bassist) left the band, so there were a lot of bittersweet feelings,” Markward said. “We thought, ‘What do we do with this album we made together?’ And I’ve been gone most of the last year, touring a lot for work, and so the band hasn’t been very active. We’ve played a few shows here and there, but we haven’t been doing much with it.
Ultimately, the band decided they wanted to get the album out.
“We picked the date, and we were like, ‘All right, this is when it’s happening; we’re putting it out, and it’s going to be a positive thing,’” Markward said. “Speaking for myself right now, I didn’t want to put it out unless we could get to a place where it felt like a positive thing, and I feel like we got there.”
Markward said he is happy with the quality and production of Too Much Heaven. The album is more expressive and open than other portions of Bug Bath’s discography.
“When we recorded the album, we were trying to push things in a slightly different direction, and pushing ourselves to be a little bit more vulnerable and try new things in the songwriting,” he said. “Looking back at that part of it, there are some parts that, to me, feel a little bit like, ‘Oh, if I had to make that decision now, I probably wouldn’t be as vulnerable or try to go as soft.’ But I think that’s a good thing too, because it really captures a moment for the band.”
“Creatively, we’re still pushing forward and trying to stay in the zone. However, what we do physically as a band, like playing shows and touring, is up in the air. Not to speak for everybody, but it can be hard to get everyone’s lives to align.”
Brigdon markward
As the band currently stands, Bug Bath is Markward on vocals/guitar, Julian Jacobs on guitar, Draven Carter on drums, and Dylan Greist on synth. Bijou Bell, who co-wrote and performed on the album, is returning to perform for the album release show.
After the release of Too Much Heaven, what’s in store for Bug Bath?
“We’re trying to keep momentum going on a personal level, and try not to get too rusty or dusty with it,” Markward said. “We started working on more songs in the spring and summer of this last year that we tracked. Creatively, we’re still pushing forward and trying to stay in the zone. However, what we do physically as a band, like playing shows and touring, is up in the air. Not to speak for everybody, but it can be hard to get everyone’s lives to align. We have some stuff planned, like a couple of days here and there, and I’d like to do something bigger tour-wise in the year, but no solid plans right now.”
The songs on Too Much Heaven are a product of a different era for the band—and that’s just fine with Markward.
“When we wrote it and when we recorded it, we had so much momentum, and we were all kind of in this, ‘We can’t do anything wrong right now,’ mood,” he said. “With all things in this realm, as soon as you stop moving, you lose all your momentum. I feel like that’s been a cool thing to see, trying to look at it from just a purely creative perspective. In a short period of time, you can just keep one-upping and one-upping and moving upward … but the moment you stop, everything stops—but the songs are still the same, and the project is still the same. … There are a lot of feelings around (the album), and that’s a good thing. It adds to the depth of the creative project, adds to the lore—but is complicated.”
Bug Bath will perform an album-release show with Charity Kiss and Next Question at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 9, at the Holland Project, 140 Vesta St. Tickets are $17.58. For tickets or more information, visit hollandreno.org.