SOUND OFF: BAD

Music has made many transitions throughout the last decade into this one. In some ways we traded in dance-pop for the “ominous pop era” as described by Vanity Fair. But what’s amazing is that pop has no true form, and this includes the new single “Dirty Laundry” by BAD.

BAD is comprised of NYC based duo Julia Brex and Jackson Hoffman. Having met in high school, the two have been writing and recording music together for over eight years. While they mainly focus on pop songwriting and production for other artists, BAD was formed a year ago and born out of a passion for funk music.

Their new single “Dirty Laundry” is filled with a certain kind of confidence that makes us want to strut down the street (post-pandemic of course) and not care who sees us! BAD seems to pull inspiration from everywhere in this new single from an ‘80s tech beat lingering in the refrain, to a ‘90s fun dance pop mix.

‘The idea of “Dirty Laundry” came up as a title/concept when Julia said it in conversation in the context of revealing secrets or skeletons in your closet. Jackson had separately been working on a groovy track and was able to hear how the words “dirty laundry” would fit into a chorus perfectly. From there, we worked on a talk/sing flow for the verses, which is a style we’ve incorporated a lot into our songwriting’.

The song opens with tales about what seems like ordinary dirty laundry mentioning “all of your sleeves – fresh and clean” but possibly alluding to the cliché of wearing your heart on your sleeve and getting it messy with past relationship drama. This being something of a play on words that continues throughout the song and eventually leads you to the true meaning.

The song playfully explores airing out your dirty laundry in a relationship as the duo reveal, “We all have baggage that we carry with us, so before you get too deep into a relationship with someone, you want to make sure they can handle all of the parts of you.” Lyrics like “Why keep it clean when we can get dirty too?” and “You look so fine in my dirty laundry” also play on that charm and show the real meaning of the song. The duo mentioning “We’ve all got issues–let’s just accept that in ourselves and each other and have a good time together!”.

Thankfully, “Dirty Laundry” isn’t the only way to feed your BAD craving. Before “Dirty Laundry” there was “Sweat” the duo’s acclaimed single as well as “Refresher” and “Paper”, all of which have their signature funk and contemporary pop elements. “We essentially want to be what a Prince and Max Martin collaboration could have been!” Brex and Hoffman create a sound feels almost nostalgic blending what feels like a time machine for current pop legends like Ariana Grande with the funk of Bruno Mars.

If you think you’re ready to experience “Dirty Laundry” you can listen to it here:

And when you’re ready to check out more from the band you can find them at @badtheband on Instagram and @thebandbad on Twitter!