Detroit shred-pop band Tart meet us at the end of cuffing season with the release of their sexually-charged single, “Like Lovers Do,” a lo-fi, lusty track about the electric feeling that comes with a new crush. The trio, comprised of Zee Bricker (vocals), Adam Michael Lee Padden (guitar), and Donny Blum (drums), achieve their gritty sound by layering Padden’s rollicking guitars and slightly distorting Bricker’s sweet and snarly vocals. The combination of the two result in a genre-bending sound that lies somewhere between New Wave, surf-rock, and power glam-pop.
Bricker says the song’s angsty vibe sprouted from a typical band-practice spat. “Donny was being a perfect angel – it was really Adam and me fighting about something dumb at practice,” says Bricker. “We occasionally butt heads creatively. Donny started playing this awesome beat and Adam was super frustrated, so he started hitting chords really angrily and dramatically. And, for whatever reason, this all made perfect sense to me so I told them not to stop.”
The band’s heated jam sesh translated well into a fiery infatuation anthem, at times almost mocking conventional courtship rituals. “We could shake hands like lovers do / Make plans like lovers do / Take it slow like lovers do,” Bricker sings with an eye roll that can be heard through the speakers. After a face-melting solo from Padden, the song breaks down into a sickly sweet Bricker singing, “I could be gentle / I could be calm / I could be cool for you,” as her vocals slowly work back into a blustery fever dream, guided by Blum’s rousing drum beat.
Ending on a single note from Padden’s warbly guitar, the song leaves us breathing heavily and wanting more, almost as if we’ve got the hots for a new flame. In Bricker’s own words, “The song’s about desire, but in the least melancholic way possible. It’s less about longing and pining, and more about feeling desire as a bubbly, exciting heat in your body. It’s not about love, it’s about crushes.”
