Almost exactly a month ago, Jay Som‘s Melina Duterte and Palehound‘s Ellen Kempner revealed that they’d been working on a collaborative project called Bachelor. They shared their first single, “Anything at All,” leaving us with no official news of an album. With today’s release of their second single, “Stay in the Car,” Bachelor have also given us the album’s name and release date: Doomin’ Sun will arrive May 28 on Polyvinyl.
Although “Stay in the Car” has a bit of a harder rock sound than their lead single, it’s another detailed soundtrack for queer desire. The song was inspired by an encounter Kempner had with a dazzling stranger. “She said stay in the car / And I’ll grab what you want,” goes the chorus. In a statement Kempner explained how she wrote the lyrics in December of 2019 while visiting Florida for her 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.”
Taking influence from the Breeders and the Pixies, “Stay in the Car” captures this instant attraction. With a gripping bass line and bursts of high-pitched guitars, Bachelor cling to this passing moment with engrossing detail, as if an examination of that moment might unfurl the secret of the stranger’s magnetism. Kempner doesn’t project onto the unknown person, instead detailing her own allure and fueling a fantasy encounter with lines like “I want us to get along / Be the ice cream left out in her sun.”
For the music video, the duo spared no expense with hi-tech CGI and lots of vintage, very cool knick-knacks. There’s a figurine of Shrek‘s Donkey and X-File dolls of Scully and Mulder (really, I want them). The short clip doesn’t feature a beautiful stranger-woman, but instead focuses on Duterte and Kempner’s friendship; there’s even a nod to Thelma & Louise.
“We worked on a two-day shoot with Haoyan of America in Poughkeepsie in extremely cold weather,” Duterte added. “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 below and pre-save Doomin’ Sun here.
