The group made their return to the live stage in November 2020 before embarking on the Small Town Big Sound tour in April 2021. In September 2021, Marwe announced the launch of his solo project, Wedding Motel. His debut EP, Childhood Beach, was released in November, with the title track also featuring lyrics by Alex Cameron. 2022–present: Upcoming fourth studio album In January 2022, Bad//Dreems revealed that they were in the process of writing and recording their fourth studio album, working with producer Dan Luscombe at Melbourne's Soundpark Studios In August 2022, the band released the first single from their new album, with "Mansfield 6.0" receiving its debut airing on triple j's Home & Hosed on August 3. That same month saw the band tour through the Northern Territory as part of the regional touring initiative Guts. A second single, "Jack", followed in October ahead of a national tour in support of the band's two newly-released tracks. In December 2022, bassist James Bartold announced that he was leaving the band in order to spend more time with his family. Music style and influences The band have cited a number of Australian and North American rock and punk bands of the 1970s and 1980s as their influences, with the likes of post-punk outfits the Wipers, Devo, Joy Division, Wire, and Television specifically informing their own self-described "rough and tumble brand of jangling rock and roll". Likewise, their music itself has seen the band explore ideas of Australian dystopia and isolation, suburban ennui, and male identity, while their earlier work was said by guitarist Alex Cameron to have been inspired by the bizarre and darker side of Adelaide history such as the Beaumont children disappearance, The Family Murders, and the Adelaide Bikie Wars. As the group have continued, their musical influences and lyrical focuses have also expanded. A review for second album Gutful specifically noted that the band "can go from sounding like AC/DC to Nirvana and even Billy Joel", while also pointing out that the record saw the group "transcend" their earlier post-punk influences. In an interview surrounding the release of Doomsday Ballet, Cameron cited the likes of Brexit, the resurgence of Pauline Hanson, and the Presidency of Donald Trump as having influenced the political focuses on their third album, though he similarly denied the notion that Bad//Dreems had become a "political band". Meanwhile, a contemporary review of the album saw