The Bad Ones
This Brooklyn-via-Florida duo operate in black and white, bringing together torch-song dramatics, scratchy AM-radio fizz and wave after wave of haunted reverb to craft flickering songs that sound beamed in from a world where Lana Del Rey gets a star turn in a David Lynch movie and/or the Ronettes slurp Old-Fashioneds with Mazzy Star at closing time. Cari Rae’s strong alto, which can evoke several shades of sadness, anchors songs like the melancholy yet sparkling “Time” and the sublimely grinding “Run.” On “Mr. E,” Rae and bandmate Jordy Asher let loose, fighting for space with a squealing guitar and tumbling drums. Sometimes the retromania can be as stu y as a mothball-filled closet, but for the most part, their debut album is a pleasantly morose listen.
Listen to ‘The Bad Ones’: