Sad13 Slugger

With Speedy Ortiz, Sadie Dupuis unleashes gnarled and dexterous guitar melodies that mimic and intersect with her distinctive, sing-songy vocal melodies; the band's noisy outbursts both bolster her furious word-slinging and belie the poetic honesty at the core of her songs. Dupuis started Speedy Ortiz as a solitary songwriting outlet, but as the band grew over the last few years, Dupuis started to miss the sanctuary and creative autonomy that bedroom recording once provided. Nursing a breakup, Dupuis sought a change of scenery away from her home in Northampton, Mass., and relocated to Philadelphia. Reinvigorated by the flourishing and inclusive music scene there, she got to work on something new.

The resulting album, Slugger — Dupuis' solo debut under the self-referential moniker Sad13 — represents a dramatic sea change. Written, recorded and self-produced in a two-week flurry, it sees Dupuis gravitating away from the grungy, guitar-based rockers she's best known for, and moving towards shimmering synth-pop and R&B (an aesthetic she first toyed with in "Puffer," one of the highlights on Speedy Ortiz's 2015 album, Foil Deer). Recalling contemporary hit-makers like Kelis, Britney Spears, Charli XCX and Santigold, Sad13's songs are brimming with the kinds of taut hooks, layers of flittering keyboards and electronic beats that'll get everyone bobbing and moving on the dance floor instead of in the mosh pit.

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