Kerry Alexander and Chris Hoge started Bad Bad Hats when they were students at Macalester College in St. Paul. They had been listening to each others' music on Myspace.” Alexander had been performing her "scrappy folk originals" and acoustic covers of punk music on campus. They initially joined forces to perform a duet. Once Alexander heard Hoge playing drums, she wanted to start a band. Eventually Noah Boswell joined them on bass. The trio then started performing around the Twin Cities and developing their sound. Boswell is slated to leave the band to attend graduate school, but the band plans to continue to tour. Reviews from outlets like Rolling Stone Magazine have been more positive than local news outlets like the News Tribune. Bad Bad Hats describe their style has been described as "indie rock," but have been described as likely to "break into Sixpence None the Richer's "Kiss Me" at any moment" and going well with a latte at Starbucks. Their songs are described as expertly produced, with hooks and intriguing turns. Their sound is very pleasing, but some critics have called for more message, urgency, and purpose. In the early days, the band alternated between acoustic and revved-up, garage-leaning rock. The band began by releasing lo-fi demos via Bandcamp. These included kazoo solos, revised Shania Twain verses, and the indie-pop track Super America. In 2013 they released their debut EP, It Hurts. Bad Bad Hats first LP, Psychic Reader, was released in 2015 on Afternoon Records. Psychic Reader received positive reviews and resulted in more high-profile opening gigs. Critics said that Psychic Reader had the same "unconventional structure and sticky melody" as found in Super America, but that the band's music had become richer, more varied, and more multidimensional. In 2018, Bad Bad Hats released their second full-length album titled Lightning Round on Afternoon Records. It and Psychic Reader were both produced by Brett Bullion, who helped develop the music's loose, organic feel. Lightning Round reflects the same blend of indie-pop, folk, and rock, but is even more refined and polished than Psychic Reader. This more recent work has a "mid-tempo groove," and a richly-produced synth-pop sound reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk.
