Meet LA-via-Miami act Bad Wave.
The duo — comprised of songwriter Tucker Tota and his production backbone Patrick Hart – first came together after finding common ground in Weezer and other ‘90s alt-rock bands while living together in Los Angeles. They now refer to their friendship as a “tech-inspired bromance” — as they are both keen on building analog synths and “talking about plug ins.” Yet despite living in the same place, they crafted the burgeoning project almost entirely over email. “Just to be clear, we live in the same building but we make Bad Wave over the internet,” says Hart. “We’re like the Postal Service.”
After dropping a handful of exhilarating singles — including debut “Look Out” (via Ghost Beach’s Crazy Heart Records) and “Runaway” — the sun-drenched heroes return today with their latest synth pop gem, “Extraordinary,” premiering exclusively with Billboard.
The cheerful, buoyant track will suit fans of Phoenix, MGMT and Two Door Cinema Club, and is built on radiant synths, insistent drums, and a windswept melody, as frontman Tucker Tota sings about a sinister (and fictional!) parking lot encounter.
“’Extraordinary’ is a song about extreme empathy,” Tota tells Billboard. “Specifically empathy with the darkest forms of human experience. We like to leave some room to let the imagination run wild, but if you listen to the lyrics and imagine a scene in a parking lot where a serial killer makes off with his victim then take it from there?”