Alex Zhang Hungtai and his band rolled into Big Car Gallery in late on a late September afternoon before Dirty Beaches’ performance at White Rabbit Cabaret. Watching and hearing a Dirty Beaches set or listening to Hungtai on album, a frenzy of thoughts and feelings come to mind. One such descriptor that could get overlooked without seeing him in person is "likeable." Between songs and engaged with a crowd, Hungtai is a humble, considerate person on stage and in print. He acknowledged a newfound fondness for Indianapolis in his initial trip to the city and seemed genuinely enthusiastic about his band’s new suit purchases down the street before the show. He has the persona that makes you want to root for him and his band.

For this session at Big Car, Dirty Beaches rewarded us with the generous gift of two unreleased songs, both of which they played again during their White Rabbit set. When discussing Dirty Beaches sound (2011 release Badlands is the official full-length album debut of Hungtai under the Dirty Beaches name. He recorded several cassettes, EPs and 7”s on his own (and on Fixture Records since 2005), everyone taps into the amalgamation of the undeniable touchstones of rockabilly, punk and lo-fi industrial sounds. Hungtai has said, “a lot of the aesthetic choices I made were determined by a desire to recreate the image of his [Hungai’s father] youth”. A word that frequently arises in most print about Dirty Beaches is “nostalgia”, which seems to me like quite the thankless descriptor. Check out the songs on this session and feel free to describe it as nostalgic if you wish. I shall not. I hear the choices of a confident man and artistic risk-taker. Here, Dirty Beaches produces a fiery three man Wall of Sound that is like The Velvet Underground taking the lead in a metropolitan carnival that has shut down all the city streets. They sound like Sherman’s army marching through an untamed, sleepless Mardi Gras. Badlands are the result of a slash-and-burn of once wooded lands. They are the desolate, haunting expanses of western America. When I hear Badlands, I immediately conjure one of my favorite films from the great Terrence Malick, one of my favorite songs from the great Bruce Springsteen, one of my favorite memories of driving across America (including those stark Wyoming and Montana badlands), and, now, a great Dirty Beaches album. These favorites of mine, they all have their own styles and imagery, and they all tie together seamlessly.

A thought that struck me when considering the idea of introducing Dirty Beaches to friends or acquaintances less adventurous in their musical tastes is a fear that must ring in Alex Zhang Hungtai’s head fairly often: what if they’re “not in the mood for it”? Dirty Beaches sound is not easy. It is fully confident, arresting and damn addictive. These are swagger songs. They will seize you and put you in whatever mood Hungtai pleases. It’s a noisy seduction, and now, Dirty Beaches has you.

Be sure to check out Dirty Beaches’ Badlands courtesy of Zoo Music, and visit Dirty Beaches’ Bandcamp page for past releases.

Recorded and Mixed by Jeff DuPont
Filmed and Edited by Daniel Arthur
Written by Justin Wesley

MP3 Downloads
Dirty Beaches - Untitled 2
Dirty Beaches - Untitled 1