Kevin Bronson on July 11th, 2018

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As Bad Wave, songwriters Patrick Hart and Tucker Tota count themselves in the new breed of artists who eschew albums in favor of simply releasing singles. If you’re really an long-player person, though, the advent of streaming services has allowed you to sequence your own if you like — and Bad Wave, authors of more than a dozen singles since 2016, kinda-sorta has. As a body of work, the duo’s singles reveal an affection for smart, concise pop that roots around in the matters of everyday relationships, with production restrained enough so you feel the songs were made by actual human beings.

Their latest single (and second released in 2018), “Good Son,” arrives a little late for Mother’s Day, but theme playlisters should keep it in mind for next May. It’s a heartfelt confession from a son who knows he sometimes who disappoints. “I think it’s safe to say that moms love their kids more than kids love their moms,” the band says of the song. “But when your mom starts crying as she drops you off at the airport to fly back to your new home across the country, you feel like you could do more to ease her pain. You promise yourself you’ll try harder to be a good son. But you don’t. You can’t.” 

||| Stream: “Good Son” and “Deeper Down” (released in May)

||| Previously: “Money,” “Time to Get Lost,” “3 AM,”