Indie rock artists Melina Duterte (aka Jay Som) and Ellen Kempner of Palehound have joined forces on their new collaborative project. While there’s some defiant irony in two queer bachelorettes calling themselves Bachelor, there’s not a hint of irony in their album Doomin’ Sun, which embraces the sincere and vulnerable lyricism for which Duterte and Kempner are both known.

According to the duo, Bachelor is less a band and more of a friendship. Both had been fans of each other’s work for years, and met at a show in 2017. In 2018, they wrote their first song together, “Sand Angel,” and decided to team up for an album. They wrote and recorded Doomin’ Sun over two weeks at a house in Topanga, west of L.A., a couple of months before the pandemic.

The album offers thoughtfully composed songs laced with fuzzy guitars and experimental sounds. Kempner’s quavering vocals play well together with Duterte’s more polished dulcet tones throughout the album. Clocking in at only 34 minutes, bouncing between faster and slower-paced tracks, it successfully blends Palehound’s harder alternative rock with Jay Som’s softer bedroom pop that fans of both bands will be sure to love. 

The album opens with the faster-paced “Back of My Hand.” Beginning with a dystopian siren-like synth, the song quickly transitions to a synthetic beat and catchy guitar hook that’ carried throughout the song. Kempner leads on vocals in a confessional tone with lyrics that harken back to the start of the duo’s friendship as mutual fangirls.

“I’m your biggest fan/ Got your song in my head/ And your poster’s above my bed,” Kempner sings. The song really blossoms at the chorus with lush keyboard playing bolstered by a pinging, cartoonish synth.

While some of the slower songs drag along, “Sand Angel,” which slows things down considerably, works well with lyrics about the bittersweet feeling of waking up from a dream you wish hadn’t ended. Featuring layered, hazy vocals, the sleepy song maintains a slight edge with a faint electric buzz in the background. Other standout slower tunes include “Moon” and “Spin Out.” Both feature warm fuzzed-out guitars that balance well with the honeyed vocals of Melina Duterte.

In contrast, “Went Out Without You” and “Aurora” fail to capture this equilibrium. Both songs feature laidback percussion by James Krivchenia of Big Thief. “Went Out Without You” creates an interesting contrast between an ominous melody and high-pitched lullaby vocals, which is appropriate for the wrenching personal lyrics but a bit grating for the listener. “Aurora,” a meandering song that includes pretty strings from Duterte’s partner, Annie Truscott of Chastity Belt, also features Kempner’s voice at a higher register and could have benefited from more harmonization from Duterte.

Faster “Stay in the Car” is about an “absolutely beautiful woman” Ellen Kempner saw in the parking lot of a supermarket. The lyrics express Kempner’s desire to get to know this beautiful stranger.

“I wanna know her/ I want us to get along/ Be the ice cream left out in her sun,” she sing while simultaneously imagining strife between the woman and her boyfriend: “She said/ ‘Stay in the car and I’ll grab what you want’/ She said ‘stay in the car.’” The video was produced by Haoyan of America and showcases the fun energy and playful friendship between Duterte and Kempner. 

Other bright spots include single “Anything at All,” and the longest track of the album, “Sick of Spiraling.” With a mid-tempo beat and bluesy bass line, the former is a perfect blend of Melina Duterte and Ellen Kempner’s sounds. The pair harmonize with muffled vocals, and combine Duterte’s sweet voice with cacophonous guitar playing to great effect.

Kempner’s vocals really shine on “Sick of Spiraling,” which features the clever lyricism for which she’s known.

“Walking alone at night/ Clutching a cheap gas station knife/ … But the danger is in my phone/ And the drug of an endless scroll,” she sings. With a doo-wop chord progression layered with shoegazy guitar, the song is one of the best of the album.