Palehound‘s Ellen Kempner and Jay Som‘s Melina Duterte already boast a fair number of accolades for their respective projects. But last month, the two songwriters announced that they would be pivoting to focus on something else, their joint band Bachelor. They shared Bachelor’s debut single “Anything At All” alongside the project’s announcement and now, they’ve returned to announce a full-length album.
Bachelor’s debut LP is titled Doomin’ Sun, and Kempner and Duterte have offered another preview of its sound with the bass-heavy song “Stay In The Car.” About the single, Kempner explains that it was written shortly after their partner underwent top surgery:
“I wrote the lyrics to ‘Stay In the Car’ back in December of 2019 when I was in Florida for my partner’s top surgery. I had run out one afternoon, post op, while he was healing to grab lunch for us and as I was gathering my stuff in the parking lot, a big car pulled up and this absolutely beautiful woman got out. She was dressed all in red, dripping with jewelry and had the most wild fiery mane I’d ever seen. She was yelling at the man behind the wheel asking him what he wanted from the store and I wished I was that man. I wanted to be a part of her life, her best friend, her driver, whatever she wanted me to be. I was completely mesmerized.”
Echoing Kempner’s statement Duterte adds, “We wanted this song to be a visceral listening experience, inspired by The Pixies and The Breeders. For the music video, we worked on a two-day shoot with Haoyan of America in Poughkeepsie in extremely cold weather. We all collaborated on the idea that our friendship should be portrayed in a fun and stylish way. Haoyan captured that energy in his own unique and creative lens through his collection of 80s/90s/00s props and toys, CGI, and anything car-themed.”
Watch the “Stay In The Car” video above and find Bachelor’s Doomin’ Sun cover art and tracklist below.
1. “Back Of My Hand”
2. “Sand Angel”
3. “Stay In The Car”
4. “Went Out Without You”
5. “Spin Out”
6. “Anything At All”
7. “Moon”
8. “Sick Of Spiraling”
9. “Aurora”
10. “Doomin’ Sun”
Doomin’ Sun is out 5/28 via Polyvinyl. Pre-order it here.