Dirty Beaches
Badlands
It’s seems the lo-fi fad is here to stay. And while that means more fuzzy bedroom projects than most of us can muster, it also raises the bar for folks dabbling in the art of minimalist distortion. Case in point: Canada’s Dirty Beaches. This one-man project from Alex Zhang Hungtai is hands-down one of the most innovative lo-fi outfits currently making the rounds. On Badlands, Hungtai pulls heavily from uncharted territory (mainly greasy rockabilly and ’50s doo-wop) and comes away with an album that’s as eerily atmospheric as it is sonically diverse. Where track “Lord Knows Best” relies on a twinkling piano line and crooning vocals, “Sweet 17” goes the hyperspeed guitars and hushed-vocals route, landing somewhere between punk cool and blown-out, doom-pop genius. Dirty Beaches plays Muddy Waters Café (506 E. Haley St.) on Wednesday, April 27, at 8 p.m. Visit clubmercy.com for info.
