Normally we’d write some sort of semi-thoughtful description of the band here, but in this case we’ll let their Facebook bio do the heavy lifting: “sad13 (sad thirteen) is a cyborg dog astrally projected from the recent past to save the middle school dance. sadie dupuis is sad13.” That tells you pretty much everything you need to know. Also, they’re pop songs — just as sweet, sugary, and satisfying as the stuff you heard on the radio growing up, but much less terrible in the sense that they’re written in a way that takes on the negative portrayals of women we’ve grown way too accustomed to hearing and turns it on its head. We’d expect nothing less of Speedy Ortiz’s Sadie Dupuis, who’s earned a reputation as one of the best songwriters around these days. She brought the band by Serious Business Music in DUMBO, Brooklyn, to share some tunes.

Sad13’s Slugger is available now on Carpark Records.

Listen to the audio podcast for more music and interview.