Tag: Saint Paul MN

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Bad Bad Hats’ Triumphant Return in Wacky Visual for Anthemic “Detroit Basketball”

Rising Minneapolis-based indie rock band Bad Bad Hats — currently founding members Kery Alexander (vocals, guitar) and Chris Hoge (bass) along with newest member Con Davidson (drums) — can trace its origins back to when Alexander and Hoge met while attending Saint Paul-based  Macalester College: the band’s founding duo had admired each other’s music on MySpace and the pair began writing songs together in 2010, eventually recording a collection of demos that would eventually comprise their debut EP.

Alexander and Hoge recruited their friend Noah Boswell (bass) to solidify their initial lineup and flesh out their sound. After playing in and around the Minneapolis area, the trio caught the attention of Afternoon Records, who signed the band and released their debut EP and their Brett Buillion-produced full-length debut, 2015’s Psychic Reader and 2018’s sophomore album Lightning Round.

hanges. Noah Boswell left the band and was replaced by Con Davidson — and as a result, some duties have been reshuffled: Hoge, who initially played drums is now playing bass. The Minneapolis-based trio recently signed to Don Giovanni Records, who will be releasing their highly anticipated third album, Walkman on September 17, 2021.

lkman’s first single “Detroit Basketball” derives its name from the call-and-response chant Pistons fans routinely fill Little Caesar’s Arena with during game night. The phrase stuck in Alexander’s head, and she later drew on it for inspiration. “Detroit Basketball” finds the rising Midwestern trio further refining their sound: sonically, the track is a breezy mix of power pop, 120 Minutes MTV-era alt rock and 00s pop punk centered around Alexander’s deeply personal songwriting, a rousingly anthemic, sing-along worthy chorus and an infectious hook. But underneath the song’s breezy infectiousness, the song balances bittersweet and sour as it’s one- part tell off to a lover that jilted its narrator, one-part feminist anthem in which its narrator boldly tells the world what she deserves and one-part tale of heartbreak by a cold and indifferent former lover — with a sort of winking acknowledgment of the whole ordeal’s shittiness.

The recently released video for “Detroit Basketball” is a playful and absurd romp: The video begins with the band disappearing off the face of the earth, and a devoted fan attempting to find them. We see that each of the members have started new, very weird careers — presumably as a result of the pandemic: Hoge has become devoted to placing miniature chip bags in bottles. Davidson has become a competitive puzzler. Alexander has become a motivational speaker for a rip off TED-like series. They each get summoned to reunite. Of course, there’s a workout montage. (I mean there has to be a workout montage) And then the band’s triumphant return — at a backyard birthday party in front of that devoted fan.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Bad Bad Hats Release a Shimmering and Swooning Ode to the Pangs of First Love

Comprised of founding members, Birmingham, AL-born, Minneapolis, MN-based frontwoman and primary songwriter Kerry Alexander (vocals, guitar) and Minneapolis, MN-born and -based Chris Hoge (drums) with Noah Boswell (bass), the Minneapolis, MN-based indie rock trio Bad Bad Hats can trace their origins to when Alexander, Hoge and Boswell all met while attending Macalester College in nearby Saint Paul. Alexander and Hoge began writing songs together in 2010, recording a collection of demos that would eventually comprise their debut EP. Their friend Boswell was later recruited to solidify their lineup, and the band quickly caught the attention of local indie label Afternoon Records, a label that has released albums by Yellow Ostrich, Now Now, Haley Bonar, One for the Team and others, as well as the band’s debut EP and their incredibly self-assured Brett Buillion-produced full-length debut Psychic Reader. 

The band’s highly-anticipated and soon-to-be released sophomore album Lighting Round not only finds the band continuing their collaboration with producer Brett Bullion, who encouraged the band to record live to tape, which not only gives the material a you-were-there-in-the-room urgency and spontaneity, but emphasizes that living, breathing, vulnerable humans created, played and recorded the material; in fact, the spontaneous approach allows little room for the prototypical overthinking and perfectionism of modern recording,  and as result, there are some minor mistakes — some wrong notes being played, maybe someone being slightly off key and so on. Of course, that’s meant to add to material’s honesty and vulnerability, as thematically its centered on dependence and independence within relationships. “Nothing Gets Me High,” the album’s latest single finds the Minneapolis trio meshing shimmering hook-driven New Wave-like pop with jangling guitar pop — and while giving their sound a clean polish, the point remains the song’s swooning, emotional heft, as the song focuses on two ironically related sensations — the all-encompassing pangs of first (or new) love, and the desire to bring about that feeling for someone else. And much like new love, it’s initially a little uncertain and a little unsure before it becomes a palpable ache.

Directed by Dan Stewart, the recently released super stylistic video features the members of the band playing the song in a studio — but from the perspective of someone watching a music video someplace else with TVs with fucked up color controls, further emphasizing the song’s initial sense of uncertain yet desperate longing.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Carroll’s Dreamy, Shoegaze Rock-based New Single “Green Acres”

Comprised of Brian Harlow (vocals), Charlie Rudoy (drums), Max Kulicke (guitar) and Charles McClung (bass), the Minneapolis, MN-based quartet Carroll can trace their origins to when its founding members and college classmates Harlow and Rudoy decided to move in together in […]