After over a decade as a band, Minneapolis’ Bad Bad Hats are releasing a self-titled album — their fourth — this Friday on Don Giovanni Records. The new single “Bored in the Summer,”released today, is a nostalgic look at the roots of bandmates Kerry Alexander, Chris Hoge, and Connor Davison.
“When Bad Bad Hats first began, I used to demo all our songs in GarageBand,” Kerry Alexander shared in a recent press release. “I love going through all the keyboard sounds and drum loops (Edgy Drums 3!) and building a track. But as the band progressed, I got away from this process in lieu of figuring it all out live in the studio with the band and our producer. ‘Bored in the Summer ’ marked my return to Garageband. It was gratifying to know I could still do it. We kept some of my Garageband keyboard parts for the final version, but we amped up the arrangement with Chris and Con’s energetic bass and drum parts and the addition of a key change. It brings a certain levity to the chorus that we love.”
The self-produced album is a return to the core Bad Bad Hats sound, which Alexander defines as “sad songs in happy exteriors”. Many of their songs were originally written via a Patreon initiative in Fall 2020, when Hoge and Alexander took requests for songs, ending up with a variety of genres and opportunities to collaborate.
Bad Bad Hats’ tour begins Friday and stops at Kung Fu Necktie on May 10th. Get tickets and more information at WXPN’s Concert Calendar, watch the “Bored in the Summer” video below, and get more information on Bad Bad Hats the album at the Don Giovanni website.