Dirty Beaches' damaged soul

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Dirty Beaches, Badlands EP

You may need to hide your girlfriend/wife/husband during Dirty Beaches' initial approach. Duck while Montreal-based Alex Zhang Hungtai swoops in crooning low and sultry, single-handedly constructing a nostalgia-narrative around fragments of 50s pop ballads and 60s-era guitar growls.

Hide them further in the spring when the solo artist's new EP, Badlands, comes out. Or just indulge in a sonic key party and flip that switch, it's a beautiful ride. First leak off the release channels a damaged soul track ripped from its source, with the heavy r&b rhythm left behind and top-layer harmonics and a single piano line intact.

Dirty Beaches, “Lord Knows Best”

Get Badlands March 29 from Zoo Music.