Dirty Beaches: "Sweet 17" MP3 | Under the Radar Magazine Under the Radar | Music Blog for the Indie Music Magazine
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Dirty Beaches

“Sweet 17” MP3

Jan 18, 2011

Dirty Beaches is Alex Zhang Hungtai’s ‘50s pop-influenced project. The solo songwriter was born in Taiwan and has made Honolulu, Montreal, Toronto, and East Vancouver his homes over the years. He sounds like a lo-fi crossbreed of Roy Orbison’s dark pop and the minimal synth-punk of Suicide. His upcoming debut LP is aptly dubbed Badlands and, in his own words, it’s chock-full of either “bangers” or “ballads and dirges laced with murder and lament.”

Download new single, “Sweet 17,” which falls into the latter category. The moody cut is absolutely engaging and perfectly soundtracks the sinister open roads of the U.S. You also got to love when Hungtai’s baritone lets out whoops and high-pitched screeches here. Pre-order Badlands now through Insound. It drops March 29 via Zoo Music. Stream more tunes at Hungtai’s MySpace or at Daytrotter and below, watch the music video for the “Be My Baby”-like album track “True Blue.” (Via You Ain’t Know Picasso.)