Local Music Round-Up 1/3/19

New year, new column! Not really. I just figured I should probably actually start my columns again. If 2019 is anything like 2018, it will be the worst  there will be a lot of great local music! Since we're only three days in, I'm going to cover some music from the tail-end of 2018 that I missed out on at first. I can only hope and pray that my motivation lasts long enough to achieve my lifelong dream of having a modicum of consistency in my publishing schedule.

Various Artists - Brace Cove Presents (Vol. 1) 

This tasty compilation EP came out a few weeks before the year's end and features some of the best lo-fi indie rock/punk bands in the Twin Cities. niiice. kick off the release with the heavy, downtrodden "Sweaty Hands." Chugging guitars motor along beneath cheeky vocals, then a guttural scream of "BUT WE'RE NOT GETTING BETTER" breaks everything off. The mixture of sweet lyricism and vicarious screams encapsulates the emotions of the track in punk amber. Pretty Still's "Not For You" is an exhausted bit of indie. The insistent refrain shocks some energy into the song with overlapping echoes, and it's just enough to hammer the point home before everything drifts away. "Gross" is an infinitely relatable tune from Marmalade, depicting a lo-fi day of staying in bed and ugly crying at night. The shimmering acoustic and twinkling riff sound like the sunlight cracking through the window, waking you up at noon. "I can't do this anymore/But I will" is a mantra that anyone who has dealt with any kind of depression knows well - justified self-criticism immediately followed by subdued acceptance.The EP closes with Granddad's "Do You Still Think About Me?," a rough snack-size bit of fuzz pop. Woozy vocals and feedback create a notion of pure yearning. Some of the shining stars of Brace Cove's lineup closed out 2018 with some of their strongest material.

 

Dreams We've Had - "Perfectly Out Of Place"

After an exceptionally productive 2018, Bennett Blumberg returns with what is possibly Dreams We've Had's most atmospheric track yet. Like an Everest of clouds, it builds to an anthemic, heart-on-sleeve chorus. It wields love gently and imbues each fluttering synth line with the greatest power known to humanity. Blumberg's singing floats without inhibition in his most effortless performance to date. The haunting outro encloses the song in emotional silk. If this song is an indication of Dreams We've Had going into an M83 period, then I am more than on board.