Broken Baby - Late Stage Optimism (2021)

L.A.-based rock outfit Broken Baby is back this fall with their second full-length LP, Late Stage Optimism. With their new record, frontwoman Amber Bollinger and Alex Dezen (former frontman of The Damnwells) craft a fiery punk polemic inspired by the sexual harassment and mistreatment Bollinger experienced for years as an actress. The duo introduced the record’s in-your-face riot grrrl style with their lead single, “Get The Piss Up,” and now they’re back with a follow-up, “Hand Heat,” premiering with Under the Radar.

The band drops some of their harder edges on “Hand Heat,” instead delivering a heartfelt punk love story. Tumbling distorted guitar lines retain a hint of the band’s biting punk sting, but the duo largely lets their latent pop sensibilities shine, carrying the song with stacked harmonies and punchy hooks. Meanwhile, Bollinger’s lyrics sketch the details of a new love affair, perfectly balancing tongue-in-cheek humor with sweet pop simplicity一“I’ve got my jellies / Slipping off my sweaty feet / And now I have to pee / But I’d rather be here with you.”

As the band explains, “This is our version of a love song. The buds of falling in love with no attachment. That moment you really fall for someone so hard, you would jump off a roof with them if they asked you to. Romeo and Juliet, but with beat-up vans and jellies on their feet.”