Today Matthew Dear returns with “Bad Ones” featuring vocals from Canadian pop duo Tegan And Sara. You can stream it above.
The song is the kind of quality electro pop we’ve come to expect from the Detroit producer, as his solo output in recent years has shifted further and further away from its techno origins toward accessibility. With a lively bubbling beat at its start, Dear leaves the singer-songwriter Quin sisters to their own devices, as they lift the song to its bright, colorful chorus. Dear joins in on the second verse, his lower-register offering a nice counterpoint to Tegan And Sara’s highs.
In a press release, Sara Quin explains that the song is about “the relief in finding someone who loves the more complicated parts of you.”
Dear previously worked with Tegan And Sara in 2013 on a cover of Tears For Fears’ “Pale Shelter.” In the same press announcement, Dear explains that collaboration opened the door for more, and when he made the loop for “Bad Ones” had the duo in mind. “Tegan and Sara eagerly accepted the challenge to write more, so I sent it over. Practically overnight, they returned with the verse and the chorus, written from scratch over my loop,” he says.
He also added that working with them again “reminds me the best songs are born from an open and free process. Often times, we need to get out of our own way to let the magic happen, and this song is a bold reminder of that.”
Dear’s last album was 2012’s Beams, which was released via his own Ghostly International label. “Bad Ones” is the second single from Dear this summer, following the release of the sleepy “Modafinil Blues” back in June.
Just prior to that song’s release, Dear took to Instagram to explain that the next batch of singles were going to be from a “new musical chapter” and his next album, which he’s been working on for the past five years. At this point there’s no word on a title or release date.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BV4p-KkDusq/
“Bad Ones” is available today via Ghostly International. You can purchase it here.
